By Svetlana Marshall

Former Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton said the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Winston Anderson had engaged him on the appointment of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice; however, he was forced to discontinue the engagement on realizing it was not in the interest of Guyana.

The President of the CCJ visited Guyana in October for the swearing in of CCJ Judge, Justice Arif Bulkan, and met with both Government and Opposition officials in the country. Key among issues discussed was the need for Guyana to have both a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice.

At a press conference today, Mr. Norton, while appearing virtually, explained that in his then capacity as Leader of the Opposition, he was engaged by the CCJ President.

“All I would say to you is that I was engaged by him, I gave him my views on the situation and outside of that I know of no other role that he would have played,” Norton told reporters.

Norton said during the engagement with Justice Anderson, he had made his position clear on the issue of “supersession,” particularly in the case of Justice Yonette Cummings, who had been the acting Chancellor since 2017, up until she preceded on leave ahead of the September 1 Elections.

“I don’t want to get into saying what he proposed or what he didn’t propose. He engaged me, I stated the position and at the point I thought that this wasn’t in the interest of Guyana, I just didn’t continue to engage,” Norton told reporters.

Questioned whether he was of the opinion that Justice Anderson had engaged him on the request of President Irfaan Ali, Norton said he would be “hard pressed” to say he knew that for a fact, but said he suspected so.

Days after Justice Anderson’s visit to Guyana, President Ali announced that Justice Yonette Cummings was heading off on early retirement.

The President said Justice Cummings, who had returned from two months of vacation leave, wrote him and requested pre-retirement leave.

The President said in the circumstance, Justice Roxane George will continue to act in the Office of Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Navindra Singh in the Office of the Chief Justice.

Ahead of that announcement, the President wrote Norton seeking agreement to confirm both Justice George and Justice Singh to the positions of Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively. He declined to so do, instead, leaving it up to the next Opposition Leader to decide.

Norton said the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) had rallied for the CCJ but now the party is concerned about its credibility.

“As a party we were at the forefront of pushing for the CCJ but when actions and some that occurred during the elections, it raises questions about the credibility of the CCJ in terms of dealing with Guyana in a fair way without political acts and involvement,” the PNCR Leader said.

The CCJ had long underscored the need for the country to have both a substantive chancellor and Chief Justice.

Leader of the WIN Party, Azruddin Mohamed, who is likely to become the next Opposition Leader, confirmed today that during the meeting with the CCJ President, Justice Anderson told him that he would appreciate his support for the Judicial appointments since there have been no confirmed appointments in over two decades.

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Norton ignores President’s request for agreement on appointment of substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice CCJ President renews call for appointment of substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice in Guyana President makes temporary appointments of Justice George as Acting Chancellor and Justice Singh as Acting Chief Justice Opposition renews call for confirmation of Chancellor and Chief Justice