CCJ President calls for substantive Chancellor, Chief Justice in Guyana

…says time has come for permanent appointments to be made

Newly appointed President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Winston Anderson, has sounded calls for the swift appointment of a substantive Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice in Guyana – which the country has been without for more than two decades.

“It is a concern. The judiciary, of course, would like to see the Chancellor and the Chief Justice confirmed in their positions. I’m not speaking of any particular person, but the Office of Chancellor and the Office of Chief Justice ought to be occupied by persons who are confirmed,” Justice Anderson contended during an interview with reporters on the sidelines of an event at the Office of the President in Georgetown on Thursday.
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 five successive presidential administrations.

But the CCJ President recognises that there is a willingness on both the current Guyanese government and opposition sides to end this impasse. During his four-day visit to Georgetown, which wraps up today, Justice Anderson had a series of engagements with local stakeholders including President Ali; current acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Roxane George; Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall; and representatives from the impending Parliamentary Oppositions – the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM).
“So, the matter was raised and both sides are committed to working towards a resolution of that problem. I know it has existed for a very long time. Indeed, I believe the last Chancellor we had was Chancellor [Désirée] Bernard, which was something like 20 years ago. That’s a pretty long time.”
“So, I do know that there are peculiar issues [and]…peculiar considerations to bear in mind, but I do think the time has come for permanent appointments to be made. I believe that the government is working towards resolving the issue. I believe that with our meeting with the parties in opposition in the Parliament, that they’re also aware of the difficulty, and they’re also working towards a resolution of the problem,” the CCJ President told reporters.
Guyana’s last substantive Chancellor was Justice Desiree Bernard, who served until 2005 when she left to joined 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 Roxane 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 position until his retirement in 2015.
With Justice Cummings-Edwards proceeding on pre-retirement leave, President Dr Irfaan Ali in August last sworn in Justice George as acting Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Navindra Singh to perform the duties of the office of Chief Justice.

Recurring calls
Guyana’s failure to have substantive appointments in its two top judicial posts have been lamented on both locally and regionally including 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 reevaluation of the constitutional provisions governing these appointments. They have suggested this issue be addressed during the country’s much-anticipated constitutional review process.
Similarly, Canada had called on Guyana to review its constitutional provisions that hinders the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice and Chancellor of Judiciary. This was call came from the Second Secretary at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Amélie Goudreau, during a review of Guyana’s human rights record at the OHCHR-UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Switzerland, back in May.
Nevertheless, with the entire Constitution of Guyana slated to be under review during the reform process, it is more than likely that the provisions for these key appointments will also be under consideration.
Back in December 2024, President Ali had assured that the substantive appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice is 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.”