Retired Assistant Com-missioner of Police, Paul Slowe has applied to High Court Judge, Justice Gino Persaud for an injunction to halt any promotion of members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) by the new Police Service Commission (PSC).
Slowe is particularly contending that no promotion can be allowed to proceed in light of his previous challenge which is still pending before the High Court, to last year’s suspension by the President, of the PSC.
In the circumstances, Slowe is seeking an injunction restraining the Com-mission, the Prime Minister and the Attorney General who are listed as Respondents, from promoting or publishing a promotions list for members of the GPF, until the matter he previously filed has been fully dispensed with.
Slowe is arguing that with his initial action yet to be determined by Justice Persaud, an injunction is necessary at this stage for preserving the status quo of the proceedings as well as that of the Guyana Police Force.
Slowe is advancing that if the injunction is not granted and the new Police Service Commission is allowed to promote members of the Force, there will be “inevitable difficulty” when the promotions from the previous list are effected in consideration for promotion to a higher rank.
He said, too, that there will be inevitable difficulty regarding such promotions which would be “backdated,” and will cause future problems as to who will be entitled to be Commanders and even the Commissioner of Police.
He said that granting the injunction will not only assist in preserving the status quo, but will also ensure that the new Police Service Commission does not act in a manner prejudicial to police officers named in the previous promotions list of June 28th, 2021.
In his action seeking injunctive relief filed on Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, Slowe is seeking any further order the Court deems just to grant.
He is being represented by attorneys Selwyn Pieters, Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt.
Just over a month ago, the Full Court upheld a decision of Justice Persaud that Slowe’s challenge to the suspension of Commis-sioners by President Ali and the non-promotion of ranks can proceed.
Justice Persaud’s decision had been appealed to the Full Court by Attorney General Anil Nandlall with the Prime Minister and Commissioner of Police also as appellants.
Sitting on the Full Court appeal, Justices Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and Fidela Corbin-Lincoln varied Justice Persaud’s order so that Slowe, former PSC Chairman has now been added as a party to the proceedings rather than being substituted for the PSC.
Nandlall had argued that Slowe’s Fixed Date Application (FDA) could not have survived the eventual expiration of the life of the Commission and had argued that it should be struck out.
In its ruling, however, the Full Court said that the “The expiration of the 3-year term of the members appointed to the Commission does not affect the body itself – established by Article 137 – save that the PSC will be unable to carry out its functions without appointed members. “The PSC remains an existing constitutional body even if the term of its appointed members has expired. There is therefore no issue of the Commission ceasing to be an existing body or having no `capacity’ upon the expiration of the term of its appointed members,” the appellate tribunal had ruled.
In delivering his ruling on March 9th, of this years, Justice Persaud had said he found that the issues raised in the case are matters of public interest in light of which he said case law authority establishes that in judicial review proceedings remedies are directed to the decision-making process itself, rather than at the parties.
Against that background the Judge had said, too, that he was of the considered view that the substantive issue of the legality of the suspension of the commissioners should be heard and determined on its merits, being a matter of public interest.
A date for the continuation of the substantive hearing of the initial action before Justice Persaud, since the Full Court ruling, is yet to be fixed.
In the initial action by Slowe in which the PSC was also named an applicant, the FDA seeks a number of declarations—among them— for the Commission’s Secretary to be directed to prepare formal letters to the ranks named on the official list of promotions compiled and signed by the Commission on June 28th, 2021 informing those ranks of the Commission’s decision to promote them and for the court to nullify President Ali’s suspension of the Chairman and members of the Commission.
Back in September of last year, Slowe wrote Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie directing that he honour the promotions list published by the constitutional body on June 28th, of last year or risk legal action. Hoppie had acknowledged receipt of Slowe’s ultimatum but there was no compliance.
The promotions list was made public just one hour after Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire had dismissed a challenge which had delayed the promotions for more than six months.
Days before the Chief Justice (CJ) handed down her ruling, however, President Ali by letters dated 15th, June, 2021 issued orders purporting to suspend the five-member Commission which included Slowe, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Clinton Conway, Claire Jarvis, Michael Somersall and Vesta Adams.
Stemming from the CJ’s June 28th ruling, however, Slowe called on the Top Cop to effect the promotions.
In his letter, Slowe upbraided Hoppie for failing to prepare the promotion order so that the promoted ranks and other members of the Force could be informed of the promotions.
