Container courts that are intended to ensure continued and wider access to justice across Guyana were launched at the Lusignan Prison yesterday.
The container courts are equipped to facilitate access by inmates to virtual courtroom hearings.
At a brief launch ceremony at the prison, acting Chancellor Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards noted that due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, many prisoners had lost hope as to when their matters would be heard in the courts. But, she said, the judiciary, took it upon itself to put initiatives in place to carry out its work. The Chancellor, while acknowledging shortcomings, said that a collaborative effort was made to equip the prisons for hearings. The magistrates’ courts were opened and although there was a limit to in-person hearings, they were able to meet the needs as far as possible of the prison population.