Terrence Campbell’s case on Teaching Service Commission appointment dismissed

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 June 2026, 10:03 by Writer

The High Court on Friday dismissed a case brought by A Partnership for National Unity’s Dr Terrence Campbell in which he challenged the constitutionality of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).

Justice Damone Younge said in her decision that the absence of an elected Leader of the Opposition made it impossible for there to be meaningful consultation as contemplated by Article 207 (2) (d) of the Constitution and as such there could be no breach of that constitutional requirement.

In addition, she said the absence of such consultation did not vitiate the exercise of the President’s power to make appointments pursuant to Article 207 (2) (d) of the Constitution.

“Therefore this court holds that in the circumstances of this case, the decision and/or act by His Excellency, the President in appointing the members of the Teaching Service Commission on the 31st December 2025 was not unlawful nor is it unconstitutional,” she said.

In the circumstances, she said it is ordered that the fixed date application filed on January 19, 2026 is dismissed.

In light of the public interest nature of the matters considered in that Fixed Date Application, the judge ordered that each party shall bear their own legal costs.

There had been a protracted delay in the Speaker of the National Assembly calling a meeting of opposition parliamentarians to elect the leader of the main opposition 16-seat We Invest in Nationhood political party Guyana’s Opposition Leader.

Dr Campbell’s 12-seat APNU did not participate in the vote when the meeting was called, leaving the process up to WIN and the one-seat Forward Guyana Movement.

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall was the named respondent.

He recalled submitting that the President’s substantive power of appointment under Article 207(2)(d) is not extinguished by a vacancy in another constitutional office, ⁠the duty to consult is only mandatory where it is capable of being undertaken, as the law compels no impossibility, ⁠the President acted reasonably and in the public interest to avoid paralysis of the Constitution and a vacuum in the TSC, and in any event, the Court ought to refuse the reliefs sought by the Applicant, having regard to public interest, good administration, and the discretionary nature of judicial review remedies.

The Attorney General’s submissions were buttressed by a number of locally decided cases relevant to the issues raised in the case, including, the judgment of Chief Justice Roxane George SC (as she then was) in the case of Aubrey Norton v Attorney General of Guyana and Clifton Hicken 2022-HC-DEM-CIV-FDA-902.

In this case the President appointed Clifton Hicken to act in the Office of Commissioner of Police when there was no Opposition Leader in place.

A similar challenge was filed contending that the President breached the Constitution by not consulting with the Opposition Leader.

In dismissing that case the then Chief Justice ruled that whilst provisions of the Constitution make it mandatory to engage in meaningful consultation where such consultation has not materialised due to no fault of the decision maker, it does not mean that the decision maker is precluded from acting.

The Attorney General said Justice Younge followed that reasoning.

At the time when the President made the appointments in question to the TSC, there was no Opposition Leader elected and this was not due to any fault of the President.

“The administration of education in Guyana remains a vital pillar of national life. To leave the system without a functioning Commission would have exposed it to uncertainty and disruption, thereby imperiling the orderly governance of the sector. The constitutional framework must therefore be interpreted in a manner that safeguards continuity, ensuring that essential institutions are not rendered inoperative by procedural obstacles beyond the control of those charged with their establishment.”

Mr Nandlall appeared in person with Ms. Shoshanna Lall, Ms. Prithima Kissoon, Mrs. Ronetta Sargent-Prince and Ms. Sabira Ali Hydaralie.