AG calls for backlog of appeal cases to be addressed

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall on Tuesday evening disclosed that there is a backlog of cases at the Guyana Court of Appeal.
During his weekly programme ‘Issues in the News,’ he said while the Judiciary has successfully dealt with litigations at the High Court and are cases “are moving swiftly,” more needs to be done at the Appeal Court level.
“We have now developed an unfortunate bottleneck or backlog at the level of the Court of Appeal… People are dying, people are migrating, their properties are deteriorating, and the appeals are not coming up for hearing, so that is something that we have to address very urgently,” he stated.
The Appellate Court has three Judges and while this may be an explanation for the slothful delivery of rulings, Nandlall noted that “it can’t be a justification.”
According to the AG, the Judicial Service Commission is working to fill existing vacancies within the court.
“Hopefully we will get appointments and there will be greater speed in the disposal of cases,” he expressed. On the other hand, the Minister of Legal Affairs raised concerns over the rate of cases being overturned by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which is Guyana’s final Appeal Court.
“In certain types of cases, there is a 100% reversal where the CCJ over rules; in other cases, the rate of reversal is not much different. This is a worrying issue and as Minister with responsibility for justice, it is my duty to voice these concerns,” he contended.
The most recent decision being reversed by the CCJ relates to the appointment of two Parliamentary Secretaries – Sarah Browne and Vickash Ramkissoon.
The case challenging the appointment of the duo was first upheld by acting Chief Justice Roxane George in 2021 and in 2023, Court of Appeal Judge Dawn Gregory affirmed George’s ruling. In dismissing the appeal, Gregory ruled that Browne and Ramkissoon were not lawful members of the National Assembly since they were on the candidate list.
However, the CCJ on Wednesday, October 30 delivered a ruling which determined that both persons are permitted to be appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries.