CJ, Chancellor non-appointment
Following Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo’s rejection of the nominees for the Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice posts, President David Granger has reiterated that he wants to rid State offices of acting appointments, and as such, he will be meeting with his legal team to ascertain the way forward as it relates to the appointments of these two top judicial positions.
“I have to be advised by my Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General. We cannot be without a Chancellor and a Chief Justice (any longer). Right now, two
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
persons are acting and I had hoped that we could have moved forward by having a substantive or full-time appointment agreed. But this has not happened and the Constitution requires me to await the approval of the Leader of the Opposition and this hasn’t come so I will have to depend on legal advice and make sure the court continues to function,” he told media operatives on the sidelines of an event at the State House.
When asked about the possibility of his two nominees being appointed to act in the positions given the Opposition Leaders’ non-approval for their substantive appointment, the Head of State noted that, “It is not desirable to continue the practice of acting which existed for several years and I would like to have substantive appointments. It’s a question of necessity; the courts cannot be paralysed by the behaviour of one person. After the first meeting I waited nearly a
President David Granger
month and I was a little disappointed with the final outcome but that is his constitutional decision,” the President stated.
Last week, Jagdeo in a letter – which was released to the media – addressed to the President, said after having duly considered the nominations of Justice Benjamin and Justice Cummings-Edwards under Article 127 (2) of the Constitution, he is unable to offer his agreement for their appointments.
However, the Opposition Leader has since indicated his willingness to further engage the President on substantive appointments to the top judicial positions.
To this end, Minister of State Joseph Harmon the following day said Government will be going ahead with “meaningful consultations” between the two sides as provided for in the Constitution.
“Mr Jagdeo’s rejection is constitutional, the President’s powers are also constitutional and there is a provision in the law which provides that in the event there cannot be agreement… then there is a second level which now requires meaningful consultations. So I believe that is the next step we will go to,” the Minister had said.
According to Article 127 (2) of the Constitution; “If the office of Chancellor or Chief Justice is vacant…then, until a person has been appointed…, those functions shall be performed by such other of the Judges as may be appointed by the President”.
On January 3, President Granger and his team held a meeting with the Opposition Leader and his team on the substantive appointments for the top judicial posts. In keeping with Article 127 (1) which states that “the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition”, the two parties agreed to meet again on February 7, 2018 to follow up on the proposed names for appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice.”
However, on that date, the Opposition Leader wrote the Head of State, indicating his rejection of the nominees after due diligence.
