Why the protracted delay in appointments of Chief Magistrate, Deputy?

Dear Editor,
A Guyana Times article dated June 5, 2025, reported that despite the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) agreeing to appoint Senior Magistrate Judy Latchman as Chief Magistrate and Magistrate Alisha George as Deputy Chief Magistrate, the instrument of appointment has not yet been issued by the Chancellor of the Judiciary.
It was pointed out that the positions were duly advertised and the respective candidates met the required standards set out in the advertisement. What is holding back the letters of appointment is truly baffling. If it is not an oversight (which would point to incompetence), then could it be some other reason(s) unknown to other members of the JSC. If this is the case, the Chancellor has an obligation to clarify the situation.
Whether the long delay to formally appoint the Chief Magistrate and the Deputy Chief Magistrate would undermine the efficacy of the judicial system and its transformation, including the disposal of cases, is difficult to assess. But one would hope that the Judiciary and the JSC act to facilitate a smooth transition at every stage in the reform process.
The backlog of cases in the judicial system combined with some archaic requirements have caused great frustration among the public who kept on complaining about the length of trials or to get their cases called up for hearing. After decades of public outcry, the PPPC Administration, working with the Judiciary and other stake holders, has moved sequentially to modernise (e.g., law reform, digitisation, improvement of physical infrastructure, virtual trials, restorative justice, expansion of human resources, etc.) the administration of justice, including the reduction of the heavy backlog of cases to attain greater productivity, efficiency, and quality of justice.
All the steps in the reform process must be put into action by its human resource capability. It is therefore commendable that the JSC appointed nine new Magistrates and based on its recommendations had 10 new Judges appointed by the President in 2024. And in 2025, eight Judges were appointed by the President to the Guyana Court of Appeal.
The expectation on these appointments is that with this substantial increase of Judicial Officers in the system, the backlog of cases would decrease, and justice would be better served. In a few years hence, an evaluation would determine how effective was this and other improvements.
I call upon the Chancellor of the Judiciary not to delay the appointments of these Judicial Officers any longer and to act in the best interest in the administration of justice. I also urge the Chancellor not to give the appearance that she wants to override the decision of her colleagues in the JSC.

Sincerely,
Dr Tara Singh