Dear Editor,
Attention is being given to the statement by the government legal adviser, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs that Ramon Gaskin is not a lawyer and therefore cannot pronounce on a constitutional matter.
As a citizen who is not only protected by the constitution but bound in my civic duty to uphold this supreme instrument such a statement is disturbing, Laws are made for the citizens. They are written in a manner that the least educated among us can understand them not only to safeguard their well-being but also in ensuring their civic duty in maintaining order in society.
What distinguishes a lawyer from a non-lawyer is that that person would have spent the time to acquire a legal education and certification to practice at the bar. At the same time it ought to be said that not only lawyers are allowed to lead evidence in a court. We see every day in the courts, non-lawyers leading evidence including from the police to a citizen who does not have the means to retain a lawyer or refuses to have one, which the law allows for.
The perception that only lawyers can speak to matters of law is false. For the very premise undermines the spirit and intent of making laws for the people and the people’s responsibility to obey the law. This aids in understanding the truism that there is no excuse for breaking the law, given that it is expected everyone is au fait with the law.
The Government of Guyana stands to gain when every citizen knows the law because it aids in the delivery of governance. Ignorance of the law on the part of the people makes governance harder and allows rogue elements in and out of government to run roughshod over the people.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
