ATTORNEY General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams, has asked the High Court to strike out the ‘contempt’ proceedings, which were initiated by Anil Nandlall over the Judicial Review Act commencement order, on the basis that the Act is now in effect in keeping with instructions of the Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire.

In the Notice of Application, seen by the Guyana Chronicle, the Attorney General– the Respondent in the matter – is applying for an order to strike out the proceedings on the basis that it is an abuse of the court’s process. In laying his grounds for the application, the Attorney General stated that on May 28, 2018, the Chief Justice (ag) heard a Fixed Date Application, and ordered that the Order to enforce the Judicial Review Act, be signed no later than July 31, 2018. He noted that at no point in time was he physically present.

On June 13, 2018, a Notice of Appeal was filed and signed by the Solicitor General Kim Kyte-Thomas, Deputy Solicitor General Deborah Kumar and Principal Legal Adviser Oneka Archer-Caulder in the Court of Appeal, thereby appealing the judgment of Chief Justice (ag) George-Wiltshire. He further outlined that on July 17, 2018 at the Court of Appeal, the Deputy Solicitor General filed an interim Stay of Execution of the Judgment and Orders of the Chief Justice (ag) as delivered on May 28, 2018, as well as a Stay of Execution of the Judgment and Orders.

The matter was called on July 30, 2018, and with the Applicant’s undertaking an Interim Stay of the Court’s Order pending the determination of the summons was granted.
“The order to operationalise the Judicial Review Act by July 31, 2018 was only brought to the attention of the Respondent by the law officers of the State just before the decision of the Honourable Justice Rafiq Kkan, S.C, which was rendered on the 9th day of August, 2018,” the Attorney General said in his application. The Legal Affairs Minister explained that upon learning of the pending decision of Justice Khan, he immediately directed that an application for an urgent hearing of the appeal be filed. That application was filed on August 8, 2018.

It was noted that the Summons for the grant of the stay of execution of the Order made by the Chief Justice (ag) was determined and decided by Justice Khan at the Court of Appeal on August 9. “Notwithstanding that personal service of the Order made by the Honourable Madam Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George S.C. was never effected on the Respondent, the Honorable Minister in furtherance of the exercise of his discretion and responsibility under Section 1 of the Judicial Review Act, had given instructions for the preparation of an Order to operationalise the Judicial Review Act,” the Attorney General explained.

The Ministerial Order for the operationalisation of the Judicial Review Act was signed on August 15, 2018 and published in the Official Gazette (Extraordinary) on August 16, 2018, the Legal Affairs Minister pointed out, noting that he was at the time seeking to comply with the Order made by the Chief Justice (ag). “The existence of the Interim Stay was never brought to the attention of the Respondent or the Chief Parliamentary Counsel which resulted in Ministerial Order No. 28 of 2018 dated the 15th day of August, 2018 and published in the Official Gazette (Extraordinary) on the 16th day of August, 2018 being brought into effect after July 31, 2018,” Minister Williams further explained. He made it that the Order was revoked.

A new Ministerial Order signed by him was published in the Official Gazette (Extraordinary) on August 27, 2018, in an effort to “diligently” comply with Chief Justice (ag) George-Wiltshire’s order, this time, in keeping with the appointed date – July 31, 2018.

“During July and August 2018 the Respondent (AG) was facilitating nationwide anti-corruption sensitisation campaigns throughout Guyana; conducting anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AMLCFT) sensitisation seminars, and campaigned countrywide in view of the PNCR Congress to be held from the 17th to the 19th day of August in Georgetown and as such there is no proof that the Honourable Minister was evading personal service as falsely claimed by the applicant [Nandlal],” Minister Williams stated.

He added too that Nandlall’s claim of service of the Order on the staff of the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General’s Chambers does not in law or fact amount to personal service of the Order on him.

The Attorney General argued that without effecting a personal service of the Order made by the Chief Justice (ag) on him, Nandlall on August 20, 2018 instituted contempt proceedings by way of a Fixed Date Application with supporting Affidavit despite having full knowledge of the actions taken by him (as the AG) to issue the commencement order.

“It is trite law that the Court lacks jurisdiction to proceed to hear an application for contempt for breach of a court order where ex facie there is no evidence of personal service of the Order on the Respondent,” Minister Williams argued, contending that Nandlall’s application amounts to a flagrant abuse and misuse of the processes of the court. The Attorney General, Williams, will make the application to the Court on September 14, 2018 at 09:00hrs before Justice Navindra Singh in the High Court.