President Bharrat Jagdeo recently approved the Law Revision Order of 2010, which brings into force the laws of the country as of December 2006.
The Order, which falls under the Law Revision Act, makes no provision for amendments and or new legislation enacted after 2006, raising concerns about the decision to prepare, publish and back date the laws.
The Law Revision Commission, which is headed by Attorney General Charles Ramson, has prepared an edition of the Laws of Guyana in electronic form and is required to publish them. However, the electronic copies are not yet available to the public.
Stabroek News made an attempt to speak with Ramson but was directed to the Permanent Secretary within the Minister of Legal Affairs Edward Wills, who was unavailable. Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang, when approached yesterday, said that he was not aware of the Order being made and was therefore not in a position to offer a comment.
Under the Law Revision Act, the Commission would prepare, publish and maintain any written laws made and brought into operation in the country. Prior to this recent publication, the laws had been revised back in 1973.
This newspaper was told that the laws were prepared as of 2006 because USAID funding for the project only covered up to that period. The President signed the Order on November 26.
