JSC will have to act with speed, alacrity in filling vacancies – AG Nandlall

Given the long hiatus between the last Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the new body that was sworn in last month, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has underscored the need for the newly-appointed body to move with speed and alacrity in filling the number of vacancies in the local Judiciary.
Since the expiration of the previous JSC in September 2017, Guyana only appointed a new Commission last month when President Dr Irfaan Ali swore in Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards; Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George; Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Manniram Prashad; Retired Justice Carl Singh and Retired Justice Beasraj Singh (BS) Roy as members on July 14. The new JSC is being chaired by the Chancellor.

The JSC is a constitutional body responsible for handling matters related to the appointment, discipline, removal, and promotion of judicial officers including Judges and Magistrates.
With the Judiciary currently permeated with a series of vacancies at the Magistracy, High Court, and Court of Appeal levels, AG Nandlall pointed out that speed and dispatch are needed in the work of the new JSC.
“It is expected that the JSC will proceed with alacrity addressing these vacancies… a lot of work has to be done and it has to be done with speed and dispatch. Hopefully, the Judicial Service Commission appreciates the monumental task with which they are shouldered,” he asserted.
Senior judicial officers such as the Chancellor and Chief Justice, for years, have been voicing their concerns about the lack of Judges in the system.
As it is, the Court of Appeal has a complement of nine Judges but there are only three Judges currently sitting in the highest local court.
The High Court, on the other hand, has a complement of 20 Judges with only about half of those positions occupied. Additionally, the Berbice Land Court has been without a Judge for a while now.
“Those voids need to be filled as early as possible,” the Legal Affairs Minister stated.
Only last week, a local newspaper reported that the newly appointed Commission will be advertising publicly to fill these vacancies – a move which the Attorney General has welcomed.
According to Nandlall, the Commission will be held, both financially and functionally, to the same level of accountability and transparency as other State agencies that are funded by public monies.
Traditionally, the JSC would invite suitable candidates to apply in order to be appointed as a Judge. However, recently, there has been a clamour for these vacancies to be publicly advertised so that the process is open to more candidates.
The Attorney General contended, “Once the application is public, then hopefully we will get applications from outside of Guyana. The intention is not to confine applicants to Guyanese but to invite the commonwealth, to invite the Caribbean, to extend the applications to all and sundry who are qualified and who desire to be part of the Guyana Judiciary. So, this approach [by the JSC to advertise vacancies] augurs well… At least, we are moving in the right direction…”
Days after the reconstitution of the new JSC last month, Attorney-at-Law Arud Gossai, and economist, Ramon Gaskin, wrote the five members of the Commissioner to ensure they advertised vacancies for Judges, both in and out of Guyana and then published potential candidates so that they could be vetted by the legal fraternity before any appointments are made. They threatened legal action against the Commission if this was not done.
In the letter sent by the law firm – Satram and Satram – on behalf of Gossai and Gaskin, it was suggested that advertisements be published in Guyana, the Caribbean, and the wider Commonwealth, inviting suitably qualified applicants for these posts as opposed to the practice of merely inviting suitably qualified to apply for the position – something which is not consistent with Article 129 of the Guyana Constitution.
Article 129 stipulates that all persons qualified for admission as attorneys-at-law in Guyana are eligible to be appointed as a Judge. Attorneys have to serve the local bar for seven years in order to be qualified for this appointment.
“Every person who meets the requirements specified in Article 129 of the Constitution and Section 5 of the High Court Act enjoys a right to apply for and be considered for appointment. The Commission has no power to curtail this right,” the letter detailed.
According to a document from the law firm, any refusal to advertise the vacancies would amount to a gross violation of the Constitution by the JSC.
Moreover, the letter also calls on the Commission to publish the names of potential candidates so that they can be vetted by the public which will foster greater transparency in the process.
On the issue of promotion within the Judiciary, Gossai and Gaskin urged the Commission to ensure that in their evaluation methods, they take into account the conduct and performance of persons who are being considered.
“The Commission has to be, therefore, satisfied that the persons they intend to appoint or recommend for appointment are capable of giving written decisions within the time-limits stipulated by Parliament… It would be a violation of the Constitution for the Commission to appoint or promote sitting Magistrates and Judges who have a history of not delivering timely judgements. In the circumstances, the Commission has a constitutional duty to request and consider, from potential applicants and other sources, evidence of their compliance or ability to comply with the Time Limits for Judicial Decisions Act,” the correspondence stated.
The letter went further to note that if these cannons of transparency, accountability, and fairness in the recruitment and promotion of judicial personnel are not adopted by the JSC, then legal proceedings may be instituted to review appointments made.