ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, on Wednesday launched a workshop to familiarise key stakeholders with the provisions of the recently enacted Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion, Plea Agreement, and Assistance) Act, 2024.
Investigators, prosecutors and other legal professionals are among those participating in the training session convened at Cara Lodge Hotel, Quamina Street, in Georgetown.

The Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion, Plea Agreement, and Assistance) Act 2024, which took effect on January 21, 2025, introduces a significant shift in criminal-justice procedures.
It allows for plea agreements to be negotiated between defendants and state prosecutors before a guilty verdict is reached.

The act repeals the Criminal Procedure (Plea Bargaining and Plea Agreement) Act Cap 10:09 and aims to expedite the handling of criminal proceedings and reduce the heavy backlog of cases.
The new act now mandates the court to inform defendants of the option to plea bargain, significantly reducing the number of cases taken to trial.
The inclusion of this measure exemplifies the government’s commitment to fostering justice, fairness and efficiency in the legal system.

Another key discussion in the workshop will be the Criminal Law Procedure Paper Committal legislation, which will replace preliminary inquiries with a streamlined process.
This legislation has yet to be enacted, but has already assisted in positioning Guyana as a potential leader in regional law reform.

Minister Nandlall explained that the workshop is a strategic decision to equip key legal professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to utilise the new legislation effectively.
“These two pieces of legislation are the most modern expression of the two systems possibly in the Caribbean,” Minister Nandlall said.

They represent a major overhaul of Guyana’s criminal justice procedures and align with the declarations set out in Needham’s Point Declaration on Criminal Justice Reform developed by the CCJ Academy of Law.
The declaration outlines over 20 measures that every member state is required to implement which intend to improve the efficiency of criminal justice systems across the Caribbean.

“You are the investigative and the prosecutorial arm of the state. And you therefore, in particular, at the investigative stage, will be the first initiator or will be the initiator of plea bargaining, for example. The first to form an impression, even before the case reaches the court,” the AG stated. (DPI)