-during special Full Court sitting

THE Supreme Court of Judicature on Friday held a special Full Court sitting at the Demerara High Court to pay tribute to the late legal luminary, Brynmor Pollard, SC and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Sase Narain, SC. Pollard died in January 2020, while Narain died in August of that year.
Paying glowing tributes to the late attorneys were Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC; Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George; Chancellor of the Judiciary (Ag), Yonette Cummings-Edwards; President of the Bar Association of Guyana, Teni Housty; Pollard’s son, Andrew Pollard, SC; Juman Yassin, SC; Hari Narayan Ramkarran, SC and Nigel Hughes.
Among those present in court were Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir; Justices Brassington Reynolds, Franklyn Holder and Nareshwar Harnanan and retired judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Duke Pollard. Joining remotely were Sir Sridath Ramphal and other esteemed guests and members of the legal fraternity.
Nandlall was the first to enlighten the gathering about the life and works of the two luminaries.

Pollard attended Queen’s College where after graduating from Sixth Form, he taught at the school briefly. He then proceeded to London to read for the Bar. In 1959 he returned to Guyana and was called to the Bar, after which he served in the Attorney-General’s Chambers under the then Attorney-General, Sir Shridath.
In 1970, shortly before Guyana attained its Republican status, Pollard was invited to take silk and became a Queen’s Counsel. Following this, he was appointed as the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and served as an expert authority on legislative drafting, constitutional and public law, and related matters.
He left the service of the Government of Guyana in 1979, when he was engaged by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation and seconded to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as General Counsel.

At the Secretariat, he assisted in the harmonisation of the region’s Companies Law, and provided assistance to the Constitutional Assembly of Namibia, South West Africa, which was poised to attain independence at the time. He was also a leading participant in the efforts of the Council of Legal Education and its two law schools in Trinidad and Jamaica.
Pollard served as the Vice-Chairman of the Juridical Committee of the Organisation of American States (OAS) from 2000 – 2002 and the Judicial Service Committee of Guyana. He demitted that office in 2010. For his outstanding contributions in the field of law at the national, regional, Commonwealth and international levels, Pollard was conferred the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) and later in 2015, the Order of Roraima (OR), Guyana’s second highest national award. Meanwhile Narain served as House Speaker from 1971 to 1992, making him Guyana’s longest-serving Speaker to date. In the latter days of his tenure, Narain had effectively banned then Opposition Leader, Cheddi Jagan, from speaking in the House unless he had apologised for tossing down law books and removing the mace during a sitting. Dr. Jagan never apologised but returned to the Chamber and addressed the Parliament as President after his party had won the 1992 elections.

He acquired his legal education from the City Law School in Chancery Lane, London and returned to Guyana to practice law in 1957. Narain was Deputy Chairman to the Public Service Commission and the Police Service Commission by the then People’s National Congress (PNC) administration in the late 1960s.
After leaving his post as speaker in 1992, Narain returned to practice law and retired in 2006. He was later conferred with silk.
Narain was the recipient of the OR national award. He was also awarded the Order of St. Michael and St. George by Queen Elizabeth II, an award which is given to persons who have delivered extraordinary or important non-military service in a foreign country.
The Chancellor in her remarks highlighted that both men have made an enormous contribution to the legal profession and have served their country well.
Meanwhile, the CJ mentioned in her presentation that the two luminaries were true exemplars who contributed immensely to their nation while noting that they will be remembered as multi-talented gentlemen and devoted family men.