The inability of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments to meet and agree on the outstanding member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has resulted in the reconstitution of the body being placed on indefinite hold.
President David Granger said some nominations have to be made by the parliamentary committee. “Once this is done, I move ahead. There is no reason for it to be delayed further,” he told reporters at the Ministry of the Presidency.
He had previously indicated that the members of the JSC would be sworn in by the end of January but this did not happen. Several members of the legal profession have questioned the delay. The life of the last JSC expired on September 30th, 2017.
According to the Constitution, the JSC is to comprise the Chancellor, who is the Chairman, the Chief Justice, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and such other members appointed in accordance with provisions listed in Section 2 of Article 198.
It states, “The appointed members shall be appointed by the President as follows, that is to say – (a) one from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the opposition and (b) not less than one and not more than two from among persons who are not attorneys-at-law in active practice, after the National Assembly has meaningfully consulted such bodies as appear to it to represent attorneys-at-law in Guyana and signified its choice of members to the President.”
Chairman of the Committee on Appointments Dr George Norton recently told this newspaper that for some time there has not been a quorum for the acceptance of the nomination, which would pave the way for the submission of a report to the National Assembly. He said a total of three persons is required but for the last few meetings, this number was not reached. He noted that at the most recent meeting, only he and one government member turned up and, therefore, the meeting could not be held to consider the nominee.
Aside from Norton, the Committee includes government ministers Amna Ally, David Patterson, Catherine Hughes and Annette Ferguson, and opposition members Gail Teixeira, Juan Edghill, Ganga Persaud and Sheila Veersammy.
Norton explained that originally, one nominee each was sought from the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers. The former submitted a name while the latter had a difficulty doing do despite communication with the committee. It was later decide that the GBA’s nominee will be the only one sent to the National Assembly.
“The committee has to meet to agree on the name…that will be in a report which will be submitted to parliament,” he reiterated.
On August 8th last year, a six member PSC was sworn in by President David Granger and former Assistant Police Commissioner and attorney at law Michael Somersall was appointed Chairman.
According to Article 199 of the Constitution, the JSC has the power to make appointments of judicial and legal officers and to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices. Such persons include the office of the Commissioner of Title, Magistrates, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, the Registrar of the High Court, the Deputy Registrar of the High Court, the Registrar of Deeds, the Deputy Registrar of Deeds and such offices connected with the courts of Guyana, and appointments for which legal qualifications are required, as may be prescribed by Parliament.
The JSC also plays a critical role in the selection of judges.
Article 128(2) provides that “the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission and appoint a person to act in the office of Justice of Appeal or Puisne Judge, as the case may be.”
Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, in his budget presentation on November 25th last year, had said that in 2019, government plans to support the judiciary by appointing more magistrates and judges to support collective efforts to reduce the backlog of cases in the courts.
With no JSC in place, this will not be possible.
