Produce evidence of corruption in judiciary – AG tells Norton

…after PNC claims fairness in judgements dependent on a person’s financial status

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, has called on Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton to either withdraw his recent claims that judges and magistrates are accepting bribes, or present evidence to substantiate them.
Nandlall was at the time referring to a bold statement released by the Opposition on May 12, 2025 via Facebook in which it indicated that fairness in judgements is dependent on a person’s financial status.

The statement reads: “Justice must be real, not selective. Under an APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) Government, the courts will serve every Guyanese equally and fairly. Because fairness should never depend on your wallet.”
During his weekly programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday evening, Nandlall expressed that “Mr Norton is clearly attributing to the judiciary an ulterior motive, and an immoral motive…a corrupt motive.”

Against this backdrop, the AG said “if Norton has information that the judges and/or magistrates are deciding cases based upon financial and pecuniary influences and rewards, then he must come out and say so by providing the details.”
“This is a most serious allegation to make,” Nandlall asserted, noting that “it is either Mr Norton withdraws this statement, or he produces the evidence.”
The Legal Affairs Minister explained that while the judiciary must be open to criticisms and public commentaries, they must be fair and respectful, and they must not attribute to the judiciary a sinister, ulterior, an improper, corrupt motive.
In fact, Nandlall admitted that “I have been critical of the judiciary” but he noted that he couches those criticisms in “acceptable terms.”
Meanwhile, in response to the Opposition’s claims of advocating for a fair judicial system, Nandlall recalled the state of the judiciary under previous People’s National Congress (PNC) Administrations.
He noted that there is evidence to suggest that the courts under the PNC rule was influenced politically as he recalled the hoisting of the PNC flag which was flown from the Court of Appeal during the 1964-1992 tenure of that party.