– says Granger’s nominee for Chancellor, Kenneth Benjamin, was rejected due to constitutional concerns

ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has made it clear that blame for delays in the substantive appointments of the Chief Justice and Chancellor of Guyana’s Judiciary is the People’s National Congress’s (PNC) handiwork.

He told those listening to his Tuesday night programme, ‘Issues in the News,’ that the current impasse stems from the PNC’s refusal to agree to the necessary appointments under the country’s constitution.

He explained that the issue goes back to constitutional amendments made in 2001 that introduced the requirement for a consensus between the president and opposition leader before the appointment of these two top judicial posts. Article 127 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana stipulates that: “The Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.”

Since the tenure of the last confirmed Chief Justice, the late Désirée Bernard, from 1996 to 2001, the position has remained in an acting capacity. Similarly, following the tenure of the last confirmed Chancellor, the late Désirée
Bernard, from 2001 to 2005, that position has also remained in an acting capacity.

Following Justice Bernard’s elevation to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Carl Singh served as acting Chancellor from 2005-2017. From 2001 to 2015, Ian Chang served as acting Chief Justice. Following his retirement in 2015, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards was appointed acting Chief Justice from 2015-2017. In 2017, she was elevated to the position of acting Chancellor, while Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire was appointed acting Chief Justice.

These acting appointments have lasted for over two decades, leaving the highest positions in the judiciary in a state of uncertainty and prompting ongoing calls for substantive appointments to be made.

Nandlall pointed out that since the 2001 constitutional changes, there has never been an agreement between the President and the Leader of the Opposition on the appointments.

“Since we changed it [the constitution], we have never had an agreement between the President and the Leader of the Opposition,” he stated during the programme.

CONSENT WITHHELD BY PNC

The opposition, now led by Aubrey Norton, has repeatedly called for President, Dr Irfaan Ali to engage in talks for the confirmation of the current acting Chancellor and Chief Justice. However, Nandlall reminded the public that despite efforts by previous People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administrations, the PNC-led opposition continuously withheld consent for the appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice.

He explained that the situation first arose after the retirement of Chief Justice Bernard in 2001, when Justice Singh was appointed to act as Chief Justice.

Nandlall explained that from 2001 to 2005, then President Bharrat Jagdeo made multiple efforts to secure an agreement from Opposition Leaders Desmond Hoyte and Robert Corbin to substantiate Justice Singh’s appointment, but these attempts were unsuccessful.

“Some persons want us to believe that this situation is a sudden creation, and they want to blame President, Dr Irfaan Ali as though President Ali is the author of this entire imbroglio. We must understand where the withholding of the agreement first came from. First, Hoyte withheld his agreement from the confirmation of Justice Carl Singh, and Robert Corbin did so on several occasions,” the Attorney General reminded his listeners.

Nandlall noted that repeated efforts by Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar to confirm these acting appointments were obstructed by opposition leaders who failed to give their consent.

He also recalled the term of President David Granger, who led the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Chance (APNU+AFC) coalition government from 2015 to 2020.

Nandlall criticised Granger’s administration for not confirming Justice Cummings-Edwards as Chancellor, despite efforts in 2018 to seek agreement from then Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo to appoint former Chief Justice of Belize, Kenneth Benjamin, as Chancellor of Guyana.

“He [Granger] was never prepared to confirm Madame Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards as the Chancellor. He was prepared to bring in a gentleman who was the Chief Justice of Belize and make him Chancellor, and that could not have happened. When you read the Constitution, you see that you had to be a judge in Guyana to become the Chancellor,” Nandlall said. As a result of this fact, he explained that Jagdeo withheld his agreement.

“[That] was the only time the PPP ever withheld agreement. It was because it was going to [result in] an unconstitutionality. And also, most significantly, it was none of these two [Justice George-Wiltshire and Justice Cummings-Edwards] that was being confirmed as Chancellor.”

Despite the ongoing impasse, President Ali has assured the nation that the appointments of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice will be addressed at the appropriate time.

During a recent press conference, he informed reporters that the appointment of permanent office holders to the two highest judicial positions is being carefully considered.

“There’s a process to be followed and, as the President, I would follow the process, taking into consideration all the circumstances that exist to ensure that we have a Chancellor and Chief Justice that would continue to take the judiciary into a place that all of us will be proud of, all of the region will be proud of,” he stated.