Femi Harris-Smith

Together with interest, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has been ordered to pay Vilvoorden Investment Inc., 

Sitting in Guyana and delivering judgment in a local case, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday denied the application for special leave to appeal by a man who was handed two life sentences for raping a child back in 2017.

In what was described as a significant day in the annals of Guyana’s history, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) held sittings locally, for the second time since its establishment eighteen years ago.

Having heard the appeal filed by Hofosawa Awena Rutherford to her conviction and sentence for poisoning her children back in 2014, the Court of Appeal will next move to deliver its judgment.

Declaring that “the presence, absence or use of the Mace in the National Assembly is not provided for in the Constitution or the Laws of Guyana,” High Court Judge Navindra Singh has dismissed the entire case brought by the opposition, in its challenge to the December 2021 passage of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Bill.

Amidst controversy over whether the body of notorious murder convict and death-row inmate, Royden Williams,  should have been handed over to his family or retained by the state for burial, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC had said that it was the latter which had control of final rites.

Finding among other things that government has “substantial public, economic and pecuniary interests,” High Court Judge Priya Sewnarine-Beharry has allowed it to join the litigation challenging a decision made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a permit to ExxonMobil for its Gas to Energy (GTE) project.

A ruling is expected to be delivered soon, in the action brought by the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) against Government’s refusal to pay its $68 million monthly subvention.

A father and son who had pleaded guilty to the 2018 killing of 23-year-old labourer Brian Dwarka, appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon on Thursday for sentencing; but only the son was sentenced as the judge said that a review of the evidence showed that there had been no culpability on the father’s part.

Finding prospects of success in the appeal filed by the EPA to a High Court ruling ordering it to enforce the liability clause in a permit for ExxonMobil’s offshore oil operations here, Appeal Court judge, Rishi Persaud has granted the EPA and the company a stay of that order which had also provided for the suspension of the permit.

High Court Judge Sandra Kurtzious on Friday handed down a ruling that the sale of C-Island Hotel located at Lot 46 High and Princes streets, Georgetown was not fraudulent and that the buyer, Marlus Hendricks, is fully entitled to it as the new legal owner and that title is to be passed within the next three months.

On June 16, the High Court will rule on whether the government and ExxonMobil will be allowed to join the litigation challenging a decision made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue a permit to ExxonMobil for its Gas to Energy (GTE) project.

A ruling is expected next week on whether there is merit in the appeal filed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the High Court order that it enforce the liability clause in permits for ExxonMobil’s offshore oil operations here.

The way is now clear for Local Government Elections (LGE) to be held on June 12th, after   Chief Justice Roxane George SC yesterday threw out another action which sought to challenge the holding of those polls.

Describing it as “unmeritorious,” “much ado about nothing” and consuming valuable judicial time, acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC yesterday threw out the action brought by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Chief Scrutineer Carol Smith-Joseph; whose contention it was that the official list of electors (OLE) could not be used to compile the voters list for the Local Government Elections (LGE) which had previously been slated for March 13th.

Local affiliate of ExxonMobil—Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL)—is strongly contesting the High Court ruling, ordering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce the liability clause in permits for Exxon’s offshore oil operations here.

Finding that his defence of alibi had not been put to the jury, the Court of Appeal has ordered that Sheldon Lynch be retried on two charges which allege that he had raped a 10-year-old girl on two separate occasions—in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Though finding that Justice Navindra Singh had “wrongfully” exercised his discretion to waive a pre-trial review (PTR) in the libel case which former President David Granger brought against several media houses, the Full Court last month ruled that it is that judge who is to conduct the trial, since it was he who had also conducted the case management conference (CMC).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not been granted a stay of the High Court ruling ordering it to enforce the liability clause in permits it issued to ExxonMobil Guyana for its offshore oil operations.

The Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) has filed its appeal against the ruling of High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon that it had breached the Act and shirked its legal responsibility in failing to enforce the liability clause in the permits issued to ExxonMobil Guyana for its offshore oil operations.