Opposition Leader cannot kickstart process to appoint Chancellor, Chief Justice- Nandlall

Last Updated on Sunday, 23 October 2022, 21:58 by Denis Chabrol

Acting Chief Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire (right) and Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Sunday said the Opposition Leader could not initiate the process for the appointment of a substantive  Chancellor and Chief Justice, instead saying that is the function of the President.

“What is important is the President who must initiate the process of the appointment and securing the Opposition Leader’s agreement. It’s not the other way around. The Opposition Leader has made certain statements which have led me to conclude that he believes that he can conclude the process,” he can initiate the process,” he said during an virtual discussion organised by the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus on the topic “The Judicial Selection Process in the Context of the Administration of Justice and Democratic Strengthening.”

Mr Nandlall emphasised that only the President could appoint those two top judicial officers only after receiving the Opposition Leader’s agreement.

The Attorney General noted that the President could appoint an acting Chancellor and acting Chief Justice after meaningful consultations with the Opposition Leader. “That clause is what has saved us in Guyana for the past 15 years,” he added.

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton earlier this year wrote President Irfaan Ali informing him the supports the substantive appointment of Justice Yonette Cummings and Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire as Chancellor and Chief Justice.

President Irfaan Ali.                Aubrey Norton.

UWI Senior Law Lecturer Professor Tracy Robinson disagreed with the Attorney General saying that Guyana has been “saved” by acting appointments of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice. “For me, Guyana has been in a precarious position in respect of the institutional independence with its two senior judges in acting appointments for 20-something years and I think this is, perhaps, the most urgent issue in respect of the judiciary in Guyana,” she said.

She hoped that before Guyana starts its constitutional reform process, the President and the Opposition Leader could “figure out the process.” “This should not be left to the constitutional reform. Guyana is in dire, dire need of permanent Chancellor and Chief Justice,” she said.

Chancellor Cummings and Chief Justice George-Wiltshire have been acting for more than two years now. Ms. Cummings was appointed to act as Chancellor to succeed Justice Carl Singh who retired in 2017 after acting in that position for 12 years.