With the Full Court set to rule on whether it will grant the State’s application to appeal its ruling that Justice Gino Persaud continues to hear the substantive challenge brought by the former Police Service Commission (PSC) to the suspension of its Commissioners and non-promotion of ranks, Justice Persaud has stayed any further conduct of the matter.
The matter came up yesterday afternoon before Justice Persaud before whom retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, and immediate former Chairman of the PSC, Paul Slowe had applied for an urgent hearing for an injunction to halt any promotion of members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) by the new PSC headed by Patrick Findlay.
In his address to the court, however, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC asked the Judge to stay his hands moving forward with any hearing, since the Full Court’s decision on his application seeking leave to appeal is set for Thursday July 14th.
Nandlall acknowledged that the Full Court, since its ruling, had not granted the State any order staying Justice Persaud from moving forward with the substantive hearing or any other directive precluding him from so proceeding.
He nonetheless beseeched Justice Persaud not to proceed, giving the impending ruling to be delivered on Thursday, which touches and concerns the substantive matter.
Nandlall further went on to advance that it would save judicial time until the superior court makes a ruling and would also ensure that multiple litigations on the one matter are not before different courts at the same time.
Attorney Dexter Todd who represents Slowe indicated that given the connected nature of the issues indeed, he had no objection to Nandlall’s request that all other matters connected with his client’s case be stayed until the Full Court makes its ruling.
Having heard the submissions from counsel on both sides, Justice Persaud acquiesced to the AG’s request to stay any further conduct of the matters before him, until the Full Court delivers its ruling.
In the circumstances, he granted an adjournment to July 22nd for what would be an update on the way forward.
On June 28th, Slowe filed his application before Justice Persaud seeking an urgent hearing for the injunction to halt any promotion of members of the Guyana Police Force by the new PSC headed by Findlay.
Less than a week later, however, on June 3rd, the Force via a press release, announced the promotion of Senior Officers.
Epic battle
The dozens of promotions were the latest move in an epic battle between government and the former PSC over police appointments.
Slowe’s contention has been that no promotion could be allowed in light of his previous challenge which is still pending before the High Court, to last year’s suspension by the President Irfaan Ali, of the PSC.
It was in those circumstances that Slowe was seeking the injunction restraining the Commission, 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.
Just over a month ago, the Full Court upheld Justice Persaud’s decision to proceed with Slowe’s initial application.
Sitting on the Full Court appeal, Justices Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and Fidela Corbin-Lincoln varied Justice Persaud’s order so that Slowe, was 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 year, 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.
Slowe’s initial FDA in which the PSC was also named an applicant, 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, 2021 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.
