President Irfaan Ali yesterday swore in Attorney at Law, Emily Dodson as the new Chair of the Law Reform Commission.
A release from the Office of the President said that Dodson previously served as a member of the commission under the chairmanship of retired Justice of the Appeal Court, Beasraj Singh Roy who resigned before the end of his tenure. Justice Roy’s resignation had never been announced by the Commission or the government.
The release said that Dodson will serve as chair for the next three years. The swearing in occurred at the Office of the President.
President Ali also administered the Oath of Office to former Member of Parliament and indigenous rights advocate Lenox Shuman, who will also serve the Law Reform Commission for three years.
The other members, who were sworn in in August of 2021, are Teni Housty, Deenawati Panday and Clarissa Riehl. Their three-year tenures are expected to conclude later this year, the release said.
During the 2024 budget debate which began on Monday, shadow minister of legal affairs Roysdale Force SC questioned what had been done by the Law Reform Commission since it was installed in 2021.
“We hear Mr Speaker the government speaks about following the rule of law and up to now we have not heard a single word from the Law Reform Commission”, Forde said.
He added that the LRC did not announce, submit or identify any specific programme or areas for law reform.
He told the sitting of the National Assembly that according to the now former Chairman of the LRC, Justice Roy, mistakes have crept into the 18 volumes of the Laws of Guyana.
According to Forde, this could be a reason why the commission has not been forthcoming with a report on its work or progress on reforming Guyana’s laws.
Stabroek News on Wednesday, January 17th, contacted Attorney General Anil Nandlall for an update on the work of the commission. He noted that the body has completed a report which he said would be dispatched to this newspaper for reporting purposes.
To date, nothing has arrived from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The Communications Officer attached to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Attorney General’s Chambers when contacted on Monday evening via WhatsApp stated that the draft of the report is currently with the commissioners of the LRC for perusal in case there is a need for an amendment.
The Law Reform Commission is an advisory body to the State and can recommend to the Government of Guyana amendments to existing laws, new legislation, and the repeal of existing legislation.
The Commission was sworn in on August 11th, 2021 by President Ali, who charged the members to ensure not only work on changes to Guyana’s archaic laws but to keep abreast with the rest of the world, particularly with an oil and gas economy set to economically transform the country.
