Committee to be established to review Legal Practitioners Act

…as AG engages GBA on mutual matters

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, in engaging the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) on Wednesday, has agreed to set up a committee to review certain long outstanding litigation involving both parties, as well as the Legal Practitioners Act.
That committee would also review certain concerns raised in respect to the recently enacted Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Act 2023, and the Guyana Compliance Commission Act 2023.
The Attorney General was accompanied to the GBA engagement by Deputy Solicitor General Deborah Kumar, Assistant Solicitor General Shoshanna Lall, and Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Officer Rommel St Hill.

The GBA team was headed by its President, Ronald Burch-Smith, and included Attorneys-at-Law Robin Stoby SC, Teni Housty, Kamal Ramkarran and Naresh Poonai.
Nandlall has expressed gratitude to the GBA for its cooperation in engaging in numerous consultative engagements on various crucial legal issues, including the review of Bills. He assured the Bar Council of his readiness to meet at any time mutually convenient to discuss important issues from time to time.
The Legal Affairs Minister updated the Bar Council on the Government’s legislative agenda, and provided a status update on important projects and programmes being pursued by the Government in the legal sector. These included a status update on the law revision exercise and the Guyana Law Reports.
The Legal Practitioners Act was enacted to establish criteria for the admission of persons to practise as Attorneys-at-Law in Guyana, to regulate their functions, to provide for their professional discipline, and for matters incidental thereto and connected therewith.
Last November, the Attorney General’s Chambers reported that Guyana had completed its second AML/CFT National Risk Assessment Report (NRA), with the Government intending to implement additional amendments to the AML/CFT Act. The Government was looking to make approximately 30 amendments to the AML/CFT Act and also to insert new sections. The amendments were passed in the National Assembly last August.
At that time, the Guyana Compliance Commission Bill of 2023 was passed in Parliament. That bill allows for the provision of adequate supervision to designated non-financial businesses or professions and non-bank financial institutions, for compliance with obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.
This non-governmental body is said to enhance the compliance, guidance and training regime on money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing in Guyana, and provide domestic and international cooperation on related matters.