…President hails move as quest to improve justice

ALL the divisions of the Supreme Court of Judicature, including the Land Court, are now housed under one roof following the opening of the new wing of the High Court, on Charlotte Street, on Friday.
At the same time, President David Granger has likened the move to the opening of a new chapter in the country’s quest to improve the administration of justice and to expand access to justice for all. The new wing houses the Land Court and three Civil Courts. This is according to Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings -Edwards.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to officially open the new facility on Friday morning, Justice Cummings-Edwards told a gathering, which included President Granger; Chief Justice (ag), Roxanne George-Wiltshire; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; among legal luminaries and invited guests, that the Land Court has come full circle .

The Land Court was previously housed in the Maraj Building on Charlotte Street and later moved to Brickdam. It has now returned to Charlotte Street, Justice Cummings-Edwards noted. She said the new wing will accommodate courtrooms with modern technology, noting that the hope is that in the not-too -distant future, ”we are looking forward to have what is termed an E-judiciary.” Justice Cummings-Edwards said that today, the High Court in Georgetown is experiencing changes of a new era, noting that the new building is viewed as a start involving changes which will improve access, justice and dispensation of justice.
Justice Cummings–Edwards, while noting that the Victorian and Tudor architecture style of the edifice will be maintained, told the gathering that the new wing is accompanied by the new civil procedure rules and new family processing and procedure rules. She said this has brought Guyana up to par with case management direction hearings which are designed to eliminate delays. To this end, she informed the gathering that such moves will ensure faster disposal of cases, with a timeline set to two to 28 days. She said that since the new rules were implemented some five months ago, a total of 1258 cases were filed and of that almost half of that number has been disposed.

Justice Cummings-Edwards noted that the latter demonstrates the judiciary’s overall commitment to improve the administration of justice in the High Court. She said the judiciary has taken many initiatives in relation to continued judicial education and enhancement of the capacity of the judiciary, and judicial officers at the personal as well as professional level. The Acting Chancellor also noted that moves for the establishment of the new wing, including the general oversight of the construction of the facility as well as representation to the Ministry of Finance, came via the vision of former Chancellor (ag), Justice Carl Singh . She suggested the wing be named in his honour.
President Granger, in remarks to the gathering, noted that the opening of the new wing “is in a way in the opening of a new chapter in the country’s quest to improve the admin of justice and to expand access to justice for all”.
He said that the judiciary requires a system that is characterised by independence, impartiality and integrity, noting that it requires persons whose qualities are of a “fit and proper person to be elected to high office.”

He said the impartiality of the judiciary will be secured by insulating the judiciary and appointing officers from political influence. The President told the gathering that the executive branch of government has taken steps to ensure that the judiciary does not feel beholden to the government of the day.
He said that the enactment of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Amendment Act 2015 a few weeks after assuming office, provided for the financial autonomy of the judiciary in accordance with Article 122A of the Constitution. ”The judiciary is now administratively autonomous,” he said.

The Head of State noted that government has provided resources for the construction of the new wing in keeping with its intention of providing enhanced working conditions and additional courts to improve the administration and access to justice. He said the government has ensured that positions in the judiciary have been filled, noting that persons were appointed to fill vacancies in the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and to act as Chancellor and Chief Justice. “So I have obeyed the constitution in every respect,” the Head of State noted.
President of the Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran noted at Friday’s event that the opening of the new wing at the High Court is the latest in a series of development which has transformed the face of legal practice in Guyana. He said those developments provide a clear commitment by the government and the judiciary to significantly improve access to and the delivery of justice.