FORMER acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang, was laid to rest on Tuesday, after a moving service at the Brickdam Cathedral.

The service was attended by several members of the legal fraternity. Chang died on Saturday evening at a private hospital in Georgetown after losing a battle with cancer. During his tenure, he presided over many high-profile, controversial and constitutional cases in Guyana, while he served as acting Chief Justice for more than a decade. Ian Chang was also former Acting DPP and former Justice of Appeal. He went off on annual leave in December 2015 ahead of his February 2016 retirement.

President David Granger said, he too, was saddened at the death of Justice Chang. He extended heartfelt condolences to his immediate family members, relatives and friends.
For his part, Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, expressed condolence at the passing of Justice Chang, saying that while he practised as an attorney, he had applauded Justice Chang for his bold decisions, which he had invariably reduced into writing and made available to attorneys.

“Justice Chang was always approachable, an almost grassroot-type jurist, who was willing and ready to advise on complex legal issues. He was popular among members of the Bar for his introduction of what became known as the ‘Happy Hour’ when he would accede to applications for bail for persons on trial for serious offences including, on at least one occasion, the capital offence of murder.” Nagamootoo added that Justice Chang made his mark on Guyana’s judicial system, and whether or not his decisions were popular, it cannot be said that he was ‘a timorous soul’.

In a statement Saturday the Judiciary and Magistracy of Guyana said they were saddened by the passing of Ian Chang C.C.H., S.C. whom they described as “a true son of the soil.” In a release to the media, the Supreme Court of Judicature Protocol and Communications Unit stated: “Justice Chang served his profession and fellow Guyanese with great honour and integrity. His was a life of service to the nation. He was respected for his phenomenal legal intellect and was a fountain of legal knowledge which he readily shared. Justice Chang’s death will undoubtedly leave a void in the justice system and with colleagues within the legal fraternity whose lives he impacted. The Judiciary and Magistracy express condolences to the family and friends of Justice Ian Chang. May his soul rest in peace.”
The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Guyana, on Sunday, said it was with a sincere sense of loss, together with an appreciation of the blessing of mercy, that it was placed into a state of mourning upon learning of the death of the former Chief Justice acting.

“For Chang, S.C., he made law his life. His life was a testimony of dedication in, and to, the law. His love for the law was one he demonstrated and shared with all of us who had any opportunity to have an interaction with him. This affection for the law was revealed and communicated in words, thoughts and actions which can be described as “Chang style”. We of the Bar Association know that his death is a loss of a friend and a mentor,” the council said in a statement.

The Bar Association of Guyana also extended its deepest sympathy and condolences to Chang’s sorrowing relatives and friends.