-seminar on serious sexual offences to be held

Local courts will soon be equipped with UK-funded audio recording systems which will speed up proceedings as judges and magistrates will no longer have to take notes by hand.

The UK aid, according to a release from the High Commission, complements efforts by the Guyanese and British governments to push security sector reform here and the government’s Inter-American Development Bank-funded judicial reform programme.

The recording systems boast microphones, cassettes and transcribing equipment.  The recording systems are being provided at the request of the Chancellor of the Judiciary.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission has facilitated a return visit of a retired UK judge who had dealt with serious sexual offences legislation to assist with hosting a related seminar for judges and magistrates.

According to the release retired UK Judge John Sessions will be helping to organise the seminar based on a format used by the Judicial Studies Board in the UK.

Last year the high commission had facilitated Sessions’s visit to host discussions with members of the judiciary, the bar association and the human services ministry.

He has a background in judicial training and working on serious sexual offences legislation and he had discussed the ‘Stamp it out’ campaign with Minister Priya Manickchand.

Following the meetings the mission arranged the visits of Justice Roxanne George, Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson and Magistrate Haymant Ramdhani to England to attend the UK Judicial Studies Board seminar on serious sexual offences. They are expected to use their experience from that visit to run the local seminar.