Nandlall defends criticism of High Court ruling

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, has again revisited an issue which landed him in hot water when he was accused of criticizing the Judiciary.

The Attorney General is standing firm on his position that the Court’s ruling is not in sync with national policy, especially since the country’s national interest is at stake.

The case involved US Company ConocoPhillips.

In 2019, the company obtained an arbitral award valuing a large sum of money against the Venezuelan Government. The decision followed a moved by the Bolivarian Republic to nationalise assets belonging to the US company.

That company sought and acquired through the High Court, a ruling to register its arbitral award which claims monies owed to Venezuela and its state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

In essence the company is seeking monies from Guyana owed to Venezuela.

But Mr. Nandlall in his weekly “Issues in the News” programme said the Government will not sit idly by and allow such an act to take place.

He said it is in Guyana’s best interest to stop the enforcement of an arbitral award in favour of the US company.

“Is it not contrary to the public policy of Guyana having regard to its national security, having regard to its national sovereignty, is it not against the national interest of our country to permit the registration and enforcement of that award against Venezuela’s debt in Guyana? Of course it is,” Mr. Nandlall said.

He said it is function of the Executive and not the Judiciary to determine the country’s national policy.

He noted that matters of national security and public security would be matters to be determined by the Executive, adding that once the Executive determines that something is against the national policy and it is before the Court, the Executive needs to report that to the Court and the Court ought to accept that and decline jurisdiction.

“You can’t have the judiciary going in one direction and the legislature going in one direction and on this particular matter, the legislature—the parliament of the country comprising of all the elected representatives of the people including the executive, the people have spoken in one voice,” Mr. Nandlall noted.

The Attorney General said National interest matters are for the Executive and people to decide and that decision has already been made at the level of the Parliament.

“Not unless what the Executive determines it to be public policy, it is irrational, is ridiculous, is preposterous and therefore no reasonable Government would say that that is national policy then the judiciary cannot question the executive on the matter,” Mr. Nandlall stated.

Mr. Nandlall said given the ongoing border controversy with Venezuela and commitment by both sides to desist from escalating the matter until the International Court of Justice delivers its ruling, Guyana cannot fold its hand and let a foreign company use the local Courts to do as it pleases.

Reports are that the Guyana Government’s escrow account for the payment to Venezuela has a deposit of US$32.01 million under the PetroCaribe agreement and it from that account that the company is trying to recoup its money.