…says “stand up for something or fall for anything”
The Bar Council of the Guyana Bar Association has again condemned the attacks on members of the Judiciary and more so this time a sitting Judge in the Court of Appeal.
President of the Guyana Bar Association, Teni Housty
In a strongly-worded statement on Friday evening, the Bar Association said that over the past four months, Judges presiding over matters touching and concerning the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections have been subjected to distasteful unrelenting personal and other attacks which not only bring them into odium but also serve the undesired result of undermining public confidence in our judicial system.
“The Bar Association once again condemns the recent inflammatory, malicious and racially charged statements, made over the past two days,” the statement said, adding that it denounces and objects to any member of the Judiciary being subjected to scurrilous, disrespectful, racial and indecent attacks.
According to the Association, all such actions which interfere with the due course of any judicial proceedings or obstruct the administration of justice in any other manner must be condemned.
While the Judiciary is not immune from public expressions of concern and criticism, it added, such right is not unfettered and must be exercised within the ambit of the law and governing legal principles; the breach of which could result in legal proceedings being instituted against such perpetrator(s) and where applicable punishable by imprisonment.
“We wish to urge, advise and warn all persons to be cautious, exercise prudence, pragmatism and show due respect for the Judiciary when making public statements thereon. We also call on all political leaders to assuage and guide their supporters and members of the public in responsible appropriate conduct. The resounding silence in the face of these attacks from those who from time to time have asserted a leadership position in the statutory structure of our legal profession, is disappointing and regrettable.”
“Stand up for something or fall for anything”, the Bar Association said, pointing that “we must all stand together in the face of the current attacks against a sitting Judge in a pending matter in the Court of Appeal of Guyana which have plunged our society further into unimaginable lows.”
Only last the Association condemned attacks through various mediums, on the lawyers who are representing parties in the legal proceedings in the court regarding the ongoing electoral impasse.
Last Friday, the Bar Council particularly mentioned the “vilest personal attacks” against former Solicitor General of Guyana, Attorney-at-Law Kim Kyte-Thomas, who is representing the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Retired Justice Claudette Singh, in the matter filed by APNU/AFC supporter, Misegna Jones, who is seeking to block GECOM from making a declaration of the March 2 elections results based on the figures from the National Recount.
“The embarrassingly protracted election process has resulted in a heightened political atmosphere which has seen a pattern in personal attacks being levied against persons in the exercise of their profession and duties. Such attacks are wholly unacceptable, inappropriate and must be denounced,” it had contended.
The Bar Council went on to note that lawyers are, by statute, officers of the court and appear for their clients in the discharge of their professional duty, under oath, without fear or favour.
On Caricom Day, the Bar Association had cause to condemn public utterances domestically, regionally and internationally by various APNU/AFC stakeholders that were targeted against the Caribbean Court of Justice, stemming from legal proceedings with regards to the country’s still to be concluded elections.
The statement from the legal fraternity noted that “the course of justice and the administration of justice in legal proceedings are critical pillars on which the rule of law rests; The pillars of justice are intended to stand robustly after many of us are no longer of this earth, let not our conduct today cause harm to the administration of justice that it will take generations to remedy.”
