Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC has raised concerns about magistrates hearing criminal cases virtually while defendants are overseas, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
The attorney general raised these concerns while delivering remarks at the opening of the Mabaruma Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
DPI said that he explained that the criminal jurisdiction of the court is territorial, which means that it cannot exercise jurisdiction over persons who are outside of Guyana. It is for this reason he contends that conducting criminal cases while the defendant is overseas is not legally permissible.
“We have to carefully look at this situation, as it continues to occur in the magistrate’s court,” he said, directing his remarks to the Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice, who were present at the event, DPI said.
DPI said that the AG gave several reasons for this legal principle. For instance, if the defendant is found guilty, the court’s ability to impose and execute a judgment or sentence is affected if the defendant is outside its jurisdiction.
“For example, if a term of imprisonment is to be imposed and a person is to be sentenced, how would that sentence be executed when the person is not within the jurisdiction of the court for him to be delivered to the prison authorities for the sentence to take effect?” he asked.
Further, he pointed out that if the defendant is to be remanded, enforcing that order becomes problematic if the individual is outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The attorney general said that it is for this reason that persons charged with a criminal offence must seek permission from the Court to leave the jurisdiction.
“That permission should only be granted between court dates, in respect of the criminal proceedings to ensure that the defendant returns to the jurisdiction for the next hearing of the criminal case,” Nandlall added.
The AG’s stance comes in the wake of the wife of former Assistant Commissioner (Ag) of Police, Calvin Brutus, Adonika Aulder’s virtual appearances in court.
Brutus and Aulder are facing a series of charges related to financial irregularities.
