–Pres. Ali appoints other members

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali, in the discharge of his functional responsibilities pursuant to the Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Act 2021, has approved the Chairman and Members who will sit on the much-anticipated Law Reform Commission, which is expected to pave the way for incremental legislative amendments.

A Law Reform Commission is an instrumental body in any society, as it ensures that the legal system does not remain stagnant. It keeps the law under constant revision, and makes recommendations to Parliament for the repeal, creation, consolidation and codification of the laws.

The approval follows Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., meeting and consulting with a number of stakeholders in March of this year, in accordance with the requisite legislation, and inviting them to submit their nominees to be considered for appointment to the Commission.

Section 4(1) (b) of the Act requires that the Minister of Legal Affairs consults with the organisations that appear to represent the legal profession, organisations such as the private sector; the trade union movement; the entities representing the interest of consumers’ affairs; the religious community; the Rights Commissions; and the National Toshaos’ Council for the appointment of members of the commission.

Those who will sit on the Commission are: Retired Justice of Appeal B. S. Roy, the Chairman; Vice-president of the Guyana Bar Association, Teni Housty; former High Commissioner for Guyana to Canada, Clarissa Riehl; Veteran educator and proprietor of Nations Incorporated, Dr. Brian O’Toole; and attorneys-at-law Emily Dodson, Roopnarine Satram, and Deenawatie Panday.

According to a press release from the Attorney-General’s chambers on Saturday, “A Law Reform Commission in Guyana is long overdue, and exists in most Commonwealth countries. This institution is expected to ensure that the country’s laws are updated regularly, and embrace new and emerging legislative trends across the world.”

The Law Reform Commission Act 2016 was enacted by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government, and while Minister Nandlall had commended the initiative, he’d also heavily criticised sections of the legislation pertaining to the appointment of commissioners.

That Act was eventually amended when the Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Act 2021 – No. 2 of 2021 received Presidential Assent on February 16, 2021, thereby bringing it into effect, to allow for persons who hold a variety of qualifications to sit on the commission.

“When the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) took office in August 2020, it pledged to move swiftly to establish the Commission after it reviewed the Act, and this was done with the Amendment of the document, which was assented to by the President on the 16th February, 2021,” the release noted.

Prior to the amendment of the Act, for one to be appointed a member of the Law Reform Commission, they first needed to be in possession of legal and judicial qualifications; be the holder of, or held judicial office; be an attorney-at-law for at least 10 years; or possess experience as a teacher of law at a university.

While recognising that the Law Reform Commission must consist of legally-trained personnel, the Attorney-General had noted that law-making is much more than technical law, as there are social, financial, cultural and ethnic components, along with rights components.

The amendment of the Act caters for that diversity and inclusivity to be reflected as part of the Commission, as it will allow for the commission to comprise persons who have a legal background, as well as persons who have at least 10 years of experience in the areas of banking, industry, economics or commerce, social or natural sciences, and law enforcement.

Minister Nandlall had previously told this publication that law reform is imperative, since it “captures and embraces the aspirations, the exigencies, the social maladies and the vicissitudes of society as it evolves, so that at no point in time the laws of our country become archaic, out of sync with modern reality, and remains static while development of the population moves ahead.”

The Commission will be operating out of a government building located at Lot 91 Middle Street, Georgetown. A Secretariat for the commission has already been established and staffed, and the members of the Commission are expected to be sworn in shortly.

“The Law Reform Commission is expected to hire researchers, social scientists, financial minds and persons trained in different disciplines who will constantly review issues arising in the country, and then consider whether we can find a legislative solution or whether some social solution,” Minister Nandlall had said.

The establishment of a Law Reform Commission is part of a fundamental component of the US$8 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Support for the Justice System Programme. The statement from the Attorney-General’s chambers noted that the IDB will fund the functioning of the Commission for a specified period, after which the government is expected to take over.
Former Attorney-General, Basil Williams, S.C., under the same Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme, had tabled and presented the Law Reform Commission Act 2016 to facilitate the implementation of the Commission.

Sources close to this publication indicated that almost some $100M was spent on the Commission for a three-year period, however, the Commission never even met. Some of the expenses included renting an office for some $800,000 per month, which was fully equipped with necessary utilities, as well as funding a full secretariat.