Nandlall files contempt of court proceedings against AG

Implementation of JRA

Former Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, has filed contempt of court proceedings against his successor, Basil Williams, for refusing to comply with the High Court ruling which ordered that he activate the Judicial Review Act (JRA).
The National Assembly had approved the Judicial Review Bill since October 2010, and it was assented to by the then President one month later. However, the Act, which allows Guyanese to seek legal remedies such as injunctions and compensation against any public official or any statutory agency, could not have been activated without the Civil Procedure Rules, which took effect in February 2017.
There has since been no steps taken over the past year to implement the Judicial

Review Act. As such, Nandlall filed a lawsuit in May, asking the court to compel his successor to activate the law. Chief Justice Roxane George granted the request, ordering the Legal Affairs Minister to activate the Act by July 31, 2018.
However, Williams, who contended that the JRA needed to be fine-tuned before implementation, turned to the Appeal Court to have the lower court ruling stayed. But Justice of Appeal Rafiq Khan last week dismissed the stay of execution application, saying that the Minister is trying to frustrate and obstruct the operationalisation of the Judicial Review Act. In addition, the State was ordered to pay $150,000 in court costs.
Nandlall had since warned that if Williams continues to refuse to comply with the acting Chief Justice’s order, contempt of court proceedings would be filed against the Minister. Nandlall had also accused the Legal Affairs Minister of avoiding being served the order from the Appeal Court.
In fact, in the contempt of court proceedings filed on Friday, Nandlall outlined in his grounds that since the Appeal Court decision, there have been three attempts by separate Court Marshalls to serve Williams with the order since last week’s ruling but on all occasions, they were unable to do so. In two instances, the Marshalls left the Order of Court with two employees at the Minister’s office, while on the other occasion, the court officer was told that AG Williams was in a meeting and that it

was impossible to serve him.
“…The Respondent is obviously avoiding personal service and were he not avoiding personal service, this order of court would have been served upon him, personally… The Respondent has refused to comply with the said order of Chief Justice Roxane George… The Respondent’s conduct is in clear contempt of the said order of Chief Justice Roxane George and this honourable Court,” the court proceeding stated.
To this end, Nandlall is asking the court for “…an order committing the Respondent to Georgetown Prisons, Camp Street, Georgetown for such period and on such terms and conditions as are just for failing to bring the Judicial Review Act Chapter 8:06, into force on or before the 31st day of July 2018, as ordered by the Honourable Madam Chief Justice Roxane George on the 28th day of May, 2018.”
He is also asking for the Legal Affairs Minister be made to pay such costs as are just and to comply with any other order that the court considers necessary.
This move by Nandlall comes one day after Government’s spokesperson, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, hinted that Government could be moving to a higher court to again stay the ruling which compels the Legal Affairs Minister to activate the Judicial Review Act (JRA).
Harmon told reporters at the post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday that the matter is currently before Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, who will then have to advise Cabinet before a decision is taken on the way forward.
“There are various levels of courts, so it might very well be that the advice might be to take it to the next level. So there are various options that are there, but Cabinet will need to be advised by the Minister of Legal Affairs on the course of action to be taken,” Harmon said.
The Minister of State has said the matter is expected to come up before Cabinet at its next meeting.