While Indigenous communities in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven, who are seeking legal recognition of their rights to traditional and ancestral lands, are still awaiting a High Court ruling, their lawyer says no reason has been given for the delay.
For more than two decades now, communities that fall under the Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC) have been engaged in a legal battle to recognise their land rights and now hold the view that the lengthy delay in bringing the matter to a conclusion amounts to a denial of justice.
Just over a week ago, this newspaper published an article following interviews with community leaders, who expressed their frustration over the lengthy wait for the ruling; with some describing the wait as discriminatory, when compared with what they said was the swift dispatch with which other matters are dispensed.
Their position is that the delay in a decision blatantly denies their right to access justice within a reasonable time.
Efforts by Stabroek News to ascertain the reason for what is being seen by the plaintiffs as a delay in rendering the ruling, have yielded from court sources only that the matter is still awaiting decision.
This response confirms what is indicated in court documents annotated on the fly-sheet, which indicates the status of an action; with the last entry made on December 19, 2017, that acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC, who presided over the matter, was next set to render her ruling.
Following that date, notices were to be sent to the parties, informing the date for ruling. To date, that has not been done.
Stabroek News contacted counsel for the plaintiffs, attorney Nigel Hughes for a comment and he also confirmed the fly-sheet entry, stating, “We are still awaiting a decision.”
Given the length of time that has elapsed, and continues to elapse, this newspaper sought to ascertain from counsel whether he had been informed over the years as to what may be causing the wait, but he responded that they had “received no intimation on the cause for the delay.”
Chairman of the UMDC and Toshao of Kato, Mario Hastings, previously told Stabroek News that since the filing of final arguments in 2017, no substantial reason has been given for the delay in the ruling.
He said that they were told that the delay is due to a backlog of cases in the court.
Article 144 (8) of the Constitution states that “Any court or other tribunal prescribed by law for the determination of the existence or extent of any civil right or obligation shall be established by law and shall be independent and impartial; and where proceedings for such a determination are instituted by any person before such a court or other tribunal, the case shall be given a fair hearing within a reasonable time.”
The Time Limit for Judicial Decisions Act 2009 addresses the period by which Courts are expected to render their rulings.
Section 3 of the Act provides for cases to be tried expeditiously. It states, “A case shall be tried as expeditiously as possible in an endeavour to conclude the case within such time as the complexity and the relevant evidence necessitate.”
Section 4(1) then addresses the time limit for decision in civil cases.
It provides, “A Judge who presides at the trial of a civil case shall give a written or an oral decision and reasons for the decision at the conclusion of the hearing of the case or as soon as possible after the conclusion of the hearing but not later than one hundred and twenty days from the date of conclusion of the hearing.”
Indigenous people’s activist and native of Phillipai Village, Laura George, has told Stabroek News that the lack of response to the case and the judiciary’s failure to act on speeding up the time in which matters are heard, appears to be discriminatory.
George at the time sought to reiterate that their fight for recognition is based on the fact that they want it to be determined that they are the real owners of lands, for which mining permits are being given.
“Our rights as Indigenous peoples have been violated in so many ways under so many phases of so many mechanisms. Our rights to give our consent to what happens on our lands have been violated over and over by systemic discriminatory practices, and decisions of political administrations. And now this is looking, we’re looking to the judiciary to affect our rights, and it’s not happening yet,” George told Stabroek News recently, while adding that they are hoping that the court makes their ownership of the land clear.
Deputy Chairman of the UMDC and Toshao of Kama-rang, Lemuel Thomas, has said that land rights is one of the burning issues they were tasked with resolving and a result their villagers are pressing for results.
The community leaders said that the delay in a ruling on this specific matter should not only be a concern for them but for every Guyanese. They posited that if the judiciary fails one group it fails all and they must stand united to ensure their rights are always respected.
The leaders believe that after the two decades and a half that have elapsed, the matter should have already been put to rest rather than being dragged out.
With the delays by the judiciary, the UMDC leaders said more harm is being inflicted on their communities through both renewals and issuance of new mining concession permits.
