Prominent Guyanese Attorney Nigel Hughes is not pleased with the position taken by the Guyana Bar Association to not offer comment on the concerns raised by CCJ Judges about the CCJ President in leaked emails. The Bar Association of Guyana has instead only expressed its concern about the leak of the internal emails between Judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

In a statement today, Mr. Hughes, who is a Managing Partner in the Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm, said while he fully accepts that judicial deliberations and internal communications are generally intended to remain confidential, it would be a grave mistake to focus exclusively on the fact of the leak while ignoring the substance of what has been revealed.

Hughes said the statement issued by the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Guyana emphasizes the importance of preserving the confidentiality of judicial communications and expresses no view on the substance of the matters disclosed.

He said he is also not persuaded that the statement reflects the views of a significant section of the Guyanese legal profession, as many practitioners, both senior and junior, have expressed serious concern not about the disclosure itself, but about the matters disclosed.

In the leaked emails between the Judges, the President of the CCJ was accused of judicial interference in cases before the Court.

Attorney Hughes said the Bar Council’s decision to remain silent on issues which go to the very heart of judicial governance, institutional accountability, and public confidence in the administration of justice has led to some uneasiness in the legal community.

He said confidentiality is an important principle, but it cannot become a shield behind which serious allegations concerning the operation of a court are insulated from scrutiny.

Hughes said the information contained in the leaked correspondence is deeply troubling, with allegations ranging from unilateral decision-making, concerns about the composition of judicial panels, attempts to influence judicial outcomes, to complaints regarding an increasingly problematic internal culture within the Court.

Hughes said these are not trivial complaints and the complaints did not emanate from external critics of the Court.

The Attorney said if the concerns raised are accurate, they suggest a significant loss of confidence within the institution by those charged with carrying out its constitutional responsibilities, adding that for Guyana, these developments carry particular significance.

HUghes reminded that the Caribbean Court of Justice is Guyana’s final appellate tribunal, and it occupies the highest position in Guyana’s judicial hierarchy and serves as the ultimate guardian of legal rights and constitutional protections.

The Court’s authority, he said, depends not upon force, but upon public confidence in its independence, impartiality, and institutional integrity.

Mr. Hughes said the reported correspondence has revealed matters that are sufficiently serious to warrant more than expressions of regret about a breach of confidentiality. He said the issues call for careful and independent examination.

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