For the first time in history, there are five Criminal Courts in the Demerara Criminal Assizes.
A release on Friday from the Supreme Court of Judicature said that the move is geared to increase the efficiency and output of the criminal justice system and five judges were assigned to preside in the July-September 2024 Demerara Criminal Assizes.
The judges assigned to the July-September 2024 Demerara Criminal Assizes are:
• Justice Navindra Singh
• Justice Jo-Ann Barlow
• Justice Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus
• Justice Peter Hugh; and
• Justice Zamilla Ally-Seepaul
Previously, three judges were assigned to the Demerara Criminal Assizes until June 2020. The Criminal Assizes were suspended from the end of June 2020 until October 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When the Assizes resumed in October 2020, the number of criminal judges was fluctuating. The release said that the number varied between 2-3 judges.
In January 2022, the Court reverted to three Criminal Courts again until July 2024 when five judges were assigned. This, it said, resulted from the appointment of ten new judges in June 2024.
