The Supreme Court of Judicature is moving ahead with the planned restart of criminal trials, which have been on hold since the local COVID-19 outbreak in March of this year and it is assuring that all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the safety of court users.
A notice of the cases listed for trial in the Demerara Assizes, due to commence on October 6th, has been published in anticipation of the resumption.
On Friday, the Protocol and Communications Unit of the Supreme Court of Judicature assured court users that all necessary public health arrangements for the safe conduct of criminal trials are in place. In a statement, it explained that in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 Task Force the Judiciary has been working assiduously to facilitate the safe resumption of jury trials for the October Session of the Demerara Assizes. It said the partnership has seen discussions on health and safety protocols for the courts, courts staff, attorneys-at-law, jurors and all court users. Among the resulting measures mentioned was the assignment of Community Health Officers, who have been stationed at the entrances to many courts, particularly in regions Three, Four, Six, and Ten, to do temperature screening and related health care associated with the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.
According to the statement, a team from the Ministry of Health and the National COVID-19 Task Force, met with representatives of the judiciary in September. The team comprised Head of the COVID-19 Task Force Col Nazrul Hussain, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Karen Boyle and Head of the Emergency Response Unit Dr. Colin James, while the judiciary was represented by the Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, Justice Brassington Reynolds, Justice Nareshwar Harnanan and Supreme Court Registrar Sueanna Lovell. The statement said there was an inspection of the existing facilities for criminal trials with the jury. “The layout of the courts along with the installation of plexiglass, transparent screens around fixtures and furniture and proposed physical distancing of the judge, court staff, prosecuting and defence counsel, and jurors in the courtrooms have been approved,” it noted.
It added that the ministry facilitated the visit of another team of officials and sanitisation of all the courts and court offices at the High Court was done on October 1st, 2020. The resumption of jury trials guidelines were shared with the team and have been considered to be “acceptable and on par with international best practices,” the statement further said as it highlighted continued collaboration between the Judiciary, the Ministry of Health and the National COVID-19 Task Force to ensure that all courts throughout Guyana are safe for all.
Following an announcement last week by Lovell signaling the move to resume the holding of trials, the Guyana Bar Association last week sounded its concerns given the deterioration in the national COVID-19 situation.
“The Bar Association of Guyana is conscious of the constitutional right of an accused person to a fair hearing within a reasonable time. But this right is not absolute and must be balanced against other considerations such as public health and other enshrined rights of citizens. One right cannot outweigh the other,” it said.
