Attorney General Anil Nandlall believes the appointment of judicial officers by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) must be based on merit and performance.

 “While the Judicial Service Commission is an independent constitutional body, it is enjoined, like every other constitutional organ, to act transparently, to act fairly, to act reasonably in its decision-making process, and if it is going to recruit, then it must do so on certain established criteria, including of course meritocracy and performance,” the Attorney General said on Tuesday.

He made the comment in response to calls from Attorney Arud Gossai and Rights Activist Ramon Gaskin, for the Judicial Service Commission to publicly advertise vacancies for judges not only in Guyana but in the Caribbean.

In a letter addressed to the Members of the JSC, Gossai and Gaskin, through their Attorney, warned that it would amount to a gross violation of the Constitution for the Commission by its conduct to limit the application process to Guyana or the number of applicants for any vacancy of Judge.

The Attorney General, in his deliberations on his weekly televised programme ‘Issues in the News’ merely summarized the request while repeatedly underscoring the need for the process to be fair and transparent.

“There are vacancies no doubt in the magistracy, in the High Court and at the Court of Appeal, and one of the tasks that the Judicial Service Commission, will invariably have to embark upon very shortly is the recruitment of personnel to fill these vacancies, and this letter is calling on the JSCs to adopt a particular process to ensure that the process of recruitment is transparent, is fair, and is accountable. The letter suggests that advertisements should be published inviting suitably qualified applicants, these advertisements should be published in Guyana, the Caribbean and in the wider Commonwealth, and should be opened to the largest pool of persons,” the Attorney General said.

In their letter, Gossai and Gaskin also warned the JSC against promoting Magistrates and Judges, who have a history of not delivering timely judgements. They believe such a move would be a violation of the Constitution.  “The appointments must be done on the basis of objective criteria,” Gossai and Gaskin said.

For the Attorney General, the two have brought important issues to the fore.

“The letters make the important point that in considering the issue of promotion that the Commission should be careful in their evaluation methods and should take into account the conduct and performance of persons who are being considered, in particular, if they have been on the bench, how many decisions they have rendered, how many decisions they have outstanding, because we have an act, a law that mandates judges to write decisions within a prescribed time, I believe six weeks after the case would have concluded, and this letter is calling for compliance with that legislation,” Minister Nandlall explained.

In their letter, Gaskin and Gossai warned that they will challenge any decision of the Commission that fails to comply with the Constitution and the ordinary principles of Judicial Review.

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