UG to offer training course for Magistrate Courts’ prosecutors

…inks MoU with AG Chambers

In an effort to enhance Guyana’s justice system, the University of Guyana (UG) will now be offering a new course that was specifically crafted to train prosecutors for the Magistrate Courts.

This is following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Legal Affairs and UG for the introduction of a new course in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Law Department, titled “Advocacy and Evidence for Summary Courts Prosecutors”.
According to a missive from the AG Chambers, this initiative falls under the Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) Programme, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The MoU was signed at the Attorney General’s Chambers on Friday in the presence of AG Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, MP; Head of UG’s Law Department, Kim Kyte-Thomas; Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr Paulette Henry; Project Manager of the Support for the Criminal Justice System (SCJS) Programme, Indira Anandjit; Procurement Officer, Rabindra Kandhi, and State Counsel at the AG Chambers, Chevy Devonish.
During Friday’s engagement, AG Nandlall handed over a syllabus and lecture manual, prepared by a consultant under the SCJS Programme, to the Law Department Head at UG.

The focus of the course is to train students, more specifically, holders of a Bachelor of Laws of Degree to prosecute in Magistrates’ Courts. The syllabus includes principles of the law of evidence, criminal law and procedure, as well as, principles governing all applications and rules relative to criminal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Courts, in Guyana. The courts will also train students in the art of advocacy and presenting evidence, as well as, cross examining in these proceedings. The conduct of preliminary enquiries will also be covered.
Graduates of this programme will be infused in the State’s prosecutorial arm in Magistrates’ Courts across the country. They will join and eventually replace Police prosecutors in the Magistrates’ Courts. These graduates will be hired by the State.
Funding from the SCJS project will finance the cost of training a batch of 25 students per semester.
This course will be taught as an optional course after foundational courses in criminal law, legal research and writing, and English 101, have been completed. It may also be taken by any third year LLB student as an optional course. Completion of this course and the foundational courses will result in the award of a “Summary Courts’ Prosecutors Certificate”.
This course is expected to begin in March of 2022.
AG Nandlall thanked the University for accepting the programme in the Law Department and indicated that the time has come for novel initiatives to be pursued in legal training.
He went on to note that this initiative is historical and will serve a greater audience than prosecutors and students who are reading for their Law Degree.
“Justice is not a one-way street. The scales of justice must be equally balanced between the State’s interest, representing the victims of crime and the interest of the accused person. Now, it is tilted because at the level of the Magistrates’ Court, the accused is represented by a trained legal mind and the State is represented by a Police officer. The introduction of the graduates of this programme into the prosecution system is intended to address this imbalance. It is expected that the quality of representation that the graduates will bring will be appreciably superior to that which currently exists. Notwithstanding, I must salute our Police prosecutors who, with limited training, have acquitted themselves with distinction in performing that difficult role of prosecuting,” the AG stated.
When he had initially announced this initiative last year, Nandlall had reassured that the existing cohort of Police prosecutors will also benefit from the training courts so that they too can enhance their performance in the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General said he is optimistic that such a course will be emulated in the Caribbean region.
He further pledged his support for other initiatives within the Law Department at UG such as upgrading of a Zoom classroom and acquisition of Law Books. (G8)