Govt seeks consultant to draft sentencing guidelines for Judiciary

The Government of Guyana, through its Legal Affairs Ministry, has published an invitation for a consulting firm to draft, and support the implementation of a comprehensive set of sentencing guidelines for the Judiciary.
During a previous interview with this publication, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, noted that such guidelines will guide sentencing courts and help to maintain public confidence in the transparency and consistency of judicial approaches.
The Government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) recently signed a loan agreement for intervention in Guyana’s justice sector. As such, the Support for Criminal Justice System (SCJS) programme seeks to address institutional issues which affect the country’s criminal justice system.
Part of the loan will go towards consulting services. The SCJS programme is seeking the services of a consulting firm that is qualified and has relevant experience in sentencing guidelines, encompassing diversion and alternative sentencing options.
The consulting firm will be required to draft, and support the implementation of a comprehensive set of sentencing guidelines that reflects suitable diversions and alternative sentencing options for all, including adults, juveniles, and children.

Given the complexity and magnitude of the task, the lead consultant will be required to convene, coordinate, consult with and work with a group of experts, including personnel from the Judiciary, the Legal Affairs Ministry, and the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who will form part of the Sentencing Guidelines Committee.
Interested firms are required to submit documents that would include a letter of intention, the firm’s profile, number and summary of main projects over the last 10 years, and other support information regarding activities relating to the subject. It is advised that submissions not be more than 10 pages.
Consultants will be selected in accordance with the procedures set in the IDB’s Policies for the Selection and Contracting of Consultants financed by the Inter-American Development Bank GN-2350-9 and will be in accordance with the principles of comparison based on the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method of procurement which is open to all eligible bidders as defined in the policy.
A shortlist shall comprise six firms, as stated in the policy and the IDB may accept a reduced number of firms in the shortlist under justifiable special conditions. An ad published in the newspapers by the Government said that further information can be obtained from: Legal Affairs Ministry, Support for the Criminal Justice System Attn: Procurement Officer, 341 East, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Guyana.
Calls can be made to (592)-226-1370 ext 204, or (592)-650-8803 while emails can be sent to [email protected] between office hours, 09:00h to 15:00h from Mondays to Fridays. Expressions of Interest (EoI) must be delivered in a written form to the aforementioned address in person, or by mail, or by email before January 20.
In a judgement delivered in May 2020 in the case of Linton Pompey vs the Director of Public Prosecutions of Guyana, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) stressed the need for sentencing guidelines to be developed and published by the Judiciary of Guyana, noting that the absence of such is a disservice to trial Judges.
“This appeal underscores the urgent need for the Judiciary of Guyana to publish sentencing guidelines. The publication of sentencing guidelines would undoubtedly play a key role in building public trust and confidence in the Judiciary and in promoting the rule of law,” said CCJ Judge Maureen Rajnauth-Lee.
Several states throughout the Caribbean Community have established such sentencing guidelines including Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In Guyana, on the other hand, there is no statute or regulation guiding Judges and Magistrates in imposing a sentence on a person found guilty of an offence. In the absence of these guidelines, the imposition of a sentence is largely at the judicial officers’ discretion.
“As a result, you find that there is no uniformity and consistency in the sentences imposed. The law offers general principles only in relation to sentences. For example, the statute may impose the number of years as a custodial sentence; let us say between two to five years. General law outlines the principles that guide Magistrates and Judges,” Nandlall had explained in the earlier interview.