New jury duty regulation soon – Attorney General

Last Updated on Friday, 9 January 2026, 20:07 by Writer

Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Thursday said efforts were underway to revamp the regulation of jury duty, that group of persons selected to deliberate on and render verdicts in court cases.

“The Chancellor and I are discussing some type of framework to regulate juries and the way juries function,” he said.

The Criminal Law (Procedure) Act contains an entire title “Law and Practice As to Juries”.

He made the announcement in remarks at the handing over of US$400,000 worth of information technology (IT) equipment and software to the judiciary, Director of Public Prosecutions’ Chambers, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Fire Service, Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The UNDP said the handover formed part of a broader package of support under the Partnership of the Caribbean and the European Union (PACE) Justice Project, through which Guyana is benefiting from investments aimed at strengthening the country’s criminal justice system through technology deployment and capacity building.

Mr Nandlall later told reporters that the jury pool needs to be revamped as there are dozens of new companies and agencies that are not part of that venire.

Unlike other countries that have frameworks for the functioning of juries such as oaths of office, protection, exemption from jury duty, transportation expenses, and sequestration of jurors for overnight duty, Guyana does not have any.

“We have been playing it by rote basically without any framework in place and countries have gone in that direction. Guyana may be the only country that has this free framework without a firm statutory footing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Judiciary Roxane George-Wiltshire said the eight Liberty court recording systems would be added to the recently-acquired ten others. “We have 18 courts already earmarked for installation. These systems will definitely enhance court efficiency. A modern judiciary requires clear and reliable systems to ensure a secure official record of the court proceedings,” she said.

The Attorney General said there were also plans to enact a new Evidence Act to replace the 1893 law that Guyana inherited from the United Kingdom and “clearly out of sync with modern realities”, and legislation to provide for judge-alone trials.

He said the Alternative Sentencing Bill has been drafted and the government has reviewed the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Act to repeal a number of “outmoded and outdated offences”.

“We don’t necessarily have to wait for the judiciary to strike them down as unconstitutional or as outmoded. We can aggressively and proactively do that,” Mr Nandlall said.

He said a Bill to do so would be tabled in the National Assembly.