By Dr Bertrand Ramcharan, Barrister-at-Law; Author of The Guyana Court of Appeal (2002)
Seventh Chancellor of the University of Guyana
Ideas travel, or not, depending on their intrinsic merit. Ideas are permanent; power-holders are transitory. Ideas span generations. I have previously explored the ideas of returning to a constituency system in Guyana and bringing in a strong national human rights commission. Today I invite the reader to consider whether the establishment of a Constitutional Court might help foster national cohesion in Guyana.
Section 8 of the South African Constitution provides that “the Bill of Rights applies to all law, and binds the legislative, the executive, the judiciary and all organs of state.” Section 39 (1) specifies that when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality freedom.