Justice Brassington Reynolds last week issued a provisional order for Attorney General Basil Williams SC to appoint the members of the Governing Board for the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority.
The Order Nisi of Mandamus, which was granted after an application for judicial review was filed by attorney Anil Nandlall, compels Williams to appoint the members of the board, in accordance with the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act, unless he can show why the order should not be made absolute.
A proposed amendment to the Act, which Nandlall said would empower the minister to act in the place of the board if it has not been appointed, was scheduled to be debated last Thursday in the National Assembly but it was deferred and no reason was given.
Williams as Minister of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General, the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Regis-tries, the Registrar of Deeds and the Registrar of the Commercial Registry are listed as the respondents in the court action, which was filed on March 6.
Nandlall applied for an Order Nisi of Mandamus compelling Williams to appoint the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority, a statutory body corporate; a Writ of Mandamus compelling him to appoint the Governing Board; an Order Nisi of Mandamus compelling the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority to discharge the functions devolving upon it in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act; a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority to discharge the functions devolving upon it in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Act; an Order Nisi of Mandamus compelling the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Act, including constituting the Governing Board and holding regular meetings thereof; a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Deeds and Com-mercial Registries Authority to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Act; an Order Nisi of Mandamus compelling the Registrar of Deeds to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Act, including constituting the Governing Board and holding regular meetings thereof; a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Registrar of Deeds to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board in accordance with and as mandated by the provisions of the Act; an Order Nisi of Mandamus compelling the Registrar of the Commercial Registry to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board; and a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Registrar of the Commercial Registry to discharge the functions devolving upon the said Board.
Section 5(1) of the Act establishes a Governing Board of the Authority, which shall have the function of ensuring the proper and efficient performance of the functions of the Authority. The board consists of a Chairman, the Registrar of Deeds, the Registrar of the Commercial Registry, a nominee of the Ministry of Finance, a nominee of the Ministry of Housing and Water, a nominee of the Guyana Bar Association, a nominee of the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals and a nominee of the private sector. The tenure of the last set of board members expired on or about June, 2016 and the board is non-functional.
Nandlall had previously written Williams and urged that he appoint the board, while saying that in its absence the registries are encountering “innumerable administrative problems” that are affecting their functioning.
“There are innumerable administrative problems which are being encountered on a daily basis by the Authority, which no doubt, affect its ability to discharge its day to day functions. One involving the Assistant Registrar of Deeds was widely covered in the news and is now the subject of litigation,” he pointed out.
“It is excruciatingly clear that you are in breach of multiple statutory duties which devolve upon you under the said Act. Your neglect and omissions also open themselves to accusations of misfeasance in public office,” Nandlall added before calling on Williams to rectify the breaches and to immediately appoint a board.
After hearing the case on March 7 and March 8, Justice Reynolds granted the order.
