20 years without a substantive Chancellor or Chief Justice in Guyana: Canada calls for review of Guyana’s Constitution on appointing Chief Justice, Chancellor

Canada has called on Guyana to review its constitutional provisions that hinder the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary.
Guyana is among 14 nations that are currently having their human rights record reviewed at the OHCHR-UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland.

During a near 3-hour-long session on Tuesday at the Guyana Review – 49th Session of the UPR – Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, rigorously defended the country’s efforts to tackle issues relating to human rights.
One of the issues Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett specifically had to address was a recommendation by Canada on the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Judiciary.
“Canada recommends that Guyana…review the Constitutional provisions impeding the processes of designating the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chancellor of the Judiciary,” the Second Secretary at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Amélie Goudreau, stated.
In response to Canada’s recommendation, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN declared, “Our constitution sets out the way our Chief Justice and our Chancellor is appointed.”
Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor since 2005. Since 2017, Justices Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxane George have been serving in acting capacities as Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively.
Article 127 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states: “The Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.”
This ‘agreement’ stipulation, however, has consistently resulted in political deadlock, spanning over two decades and affecting four successive presidential administrations.
Guyana’s last substantive Chancellor was Justice Desiree Bernard, who served until 2005, when she left to join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Since then, Justice Carl Singh was appointed acting Chancellor – a position he held until his retirement in 2017 without being confirmed.
Justice Cummings-Edwards was then appointed acting Chancellor in 2017 by former President David Granger. He had also appointed Justice George as acting Chief Justice in 2017.
Prior to this, the late Justice Ian Chang was appointed acting Chief Justice in 2005, and served in that position until his retirement in 2015.
Guyana’s failure to have substantive appointments in its two top judicial posts has been lamented both locally and regionally, including by successive CCJ Presidents.
Calls for the substantive appointments of these two top judicial positions have been a recurring demand from legal professionals, civil society groups, and international organisations, who argue that the long-standing acting appointments undermine the stability and perception of the Judiciary’s independence.
In the past, Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, SC, along with past Bar Association President Pauline Chase, had advocated for a re-evaluation of the constitutional provisions governing these appointments. They have suggested this issue be addressed during the country’s much-anticipated constitutional review process.
In fact, sources say that since the entire Constitution of Guyana would be under review during the reform process, it is more than likely that the provisions for these key appointments would also be under consideration.
Back in December, President Dr Irfaan Ali had assured that the substantive appointments of the Chancellor and Chief Justice were being continuously looked at.
Meanwhile, the Bar Association, earlier this year, reiterated concerns about the prolonged lack of permanent appointments to these top judicial positions, describing the situation as “untenable.”
“The situation is untenable and it is unacceptable, and it is not something that we can continue to have happen… There is no reason that we should be here, 20 years later, without a Chancellor or Chief Justice; and this is not something that should be accepted by anyone,” President of the GBA, Kamal Ramkarran, had lamented back in January 2025.
Ramkarran had also supported Justices George and Cummings-Edwards to be substantively confirmed in their positions.