Canada recommends “review” of Constitution on appointing Chancellor, Chief Justice

Last Updated on Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 20:40 by Writer

Canada on Tuesday recommended that Guyana review its constitutional provision that is blocking the substantive appointment of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

“Canada recommends that Guyana review the constitutional provision impeding the processes of designating the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chancellor of the Judiciary,” said Amélie Goudreau, Second Secretary at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

The recommendation was made at the Review of Guyana – 49th Session of Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council that was held in Geneva.

The appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice constitutionally require the support of the Opposition Leader.

In response, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, said, “Our constitution sets out the way our Chief Justice and our Chancellor are appointed.”

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has already informed President Irfaan Ali that he would support the substantive appointment of acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire.

Dr Ali has declined to provide specific reasons for not wanting to appoint them substantively.

Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor since 2005, since the retirement of Chancellor Desiree Bernard.

Justice Cummings was appointed to act as Chancellor to succeed Justice Carl Singh who retired in 2017 after acting in that position for 12 years. Ms George-Wiltshire has also been acting as Chief Justice since 2017.

Successive Presidents of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had frowned on the failure to appoint substantive holders of those top judicial offices.

In response to recommendations by several countries for Guyana to remove the death penalty and criminalisati0n of same-sex relations, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett said those would be addressed during the constitutional reform process.