–Attorney General says
ATTORNEY General Anil Nandlall, S.C. has said that the maritime laws of Guyana will be updated in the new year to ensure that the country remains in consonance and up to date with modern international standards, especially in light of progress offshore Guyana, as part of activities in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Nandlall, in an invited comment recently, said the plans are in keeping with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) 2020 Manifesto to modernise the legal architecture of the country.
This, he explained, not only involves the promulgation of new laws, but also the examination of existing laws, and modifying or repealing them.
The Attorney General said that this will be done to bring the archaic laws “in conformity with modern international standards.”
“That is what we are doing in almost every area of national law. Now, Guyana is an oil-producing country. And obviously, we have to create the requisite legal and infrastructural and regulatory framework that would conduce to such an industry,” he said.
According to Nandlall, Guyana’s oil and gas industry has certain “peculiar facets” that are going to be developed, with one of them being activities offshore and onshore.
“So, you actually have shore-based facilities being established throughout Guyana, and you also will have additional port facilities, not only because of the oil and gas industry, but because our economy is reaching new heights and there is a large increase in the type of economic activities taking place in the country, as well as the size of those activities.
“Necessarily, that will cause and result in increased commercial activity in our rivers and territorial waters. We obviously can’t continue with the same legal framework which existed when these activities were not present,” he underscored.
Nandlall related that an important part of law-making is that the law must change or new laws must be implemented to meet the dynamism and the exigencies of an evolving society.
“So naturally, we have to look into this area of maritime activity and the regulatory framework which exists in relation to our ports, in relation to the use of our rivers, the use of our oceans, etc.
“We are not going to do anything exceptional because we also don’t want to over-regulate. Neither do we want our regulatory framework to be considered oppressive or onerous. But it must be in keeping with international standards so that users of the waterways are protected, public property is protected, and the state’s interest is preserved and protected,” Nandlall said.
He added that the law will also cater to crime and security concerns given the “new influx” of vessels in the shipping sector, which could increase the likelihood of criminal cargo and proceeds of crime coming into the country.
Nandlall said that monitoring mechanisms will have to be put in place to protect the citizen and the country from “illicit trade.”
Guyana’s current shipping laws are about 25 years old and require review since the economy is radically different from that which existed years ago when that Act was passed.
“You may have international conventions and treaties regulating port authorities across the world that are not reflective in our current legal infrastructure. Then you’ll have to cater for the increase in activities in this arena. We didn’t have a shore-based facility 25 years ago, we didn’t have so much traffic in our waterways 25 years ago.
We didn’t have so many collisions with the Demerara Harbour Bridge 25 years ago.
“Is the protective safeguards in place, which were put in place 25 years ago? Is as robust as they should be in the year 2022?” he asked, adding: “Law Reform is a constant thing. Nothing remains static in the world. And laws must always evolve with society. We are the fastest-growing economy in the world and that was not the position years ago.”
The Attorney General said that the government will be reviewing the sector, the regulatory and statutory framework and what is applicable to the Caribbean and other oil-producing countries come next year.
