The Bar Association of Guyana on Tuesday launched the 2017-2018 edition of its law journal, ‘The Bar Association Review’ (BAR) at the Cara Lodge Hotel.
In a statement, the Association said the launch was attended by members of the judiciary, magistracy, legal profession, the University of Guyana and civil society. Jairam Seenath, SC, of the Trinidad Bar, was also in attendance, while Ralph Ramkarran, SC, delivered the feature address.
In delivering remarks at the event, President of the Bar Association Kamal Ramkarran expressed the hope that the publication of the new edition of the BAR, after a hiatus of four years, will renew interest that would see the return of its annual publication.
The BAR was first published in 1981 under the Presidency of Ashton Chase, SC and the statement noted that in so doing he fulfilled one of the purposes of the Association, which is, to “…print and publish periodicals and other documents on any aspects of the law.”
It added that the BAR was intended to be an annual publication, which it remained up to about 1998, after which it appeared less frequently, for one reason or the other, with notable exceptions in 2008, 2011 and 2014. It said it gives members of the legal profession an opportunity to explore and discuss various topics of interest in the law through articles, and also includes written decisions of the Supreme Courts.
According to the statement, the Secretary of the Bar Association Pauline Chase, in her closing remarks at the event, noted that the current edition of the BAR would also be of interest to the general public. She highlighted the article on the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in the matter of Selby v Smith, and the written decision of the Honourable Justice Jo-Ann Barlow on mandatory sentencing, a current topic of interest in the society. In closing she thanked Attorneys-at-Law who submitted articles for publication and the corporate sponsors, John Fernandes Limited, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited and Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.
The 2017/2018 edition of the ‘BAR’ also includes presentations made during the last year by the CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron, Justice Charles Ramson, SC, and Robin Stoby, SC. It is available for purchase at the Bar Association’s office at 39 Brickdam, Stabroek, at the cost of $3,500.
