By Svetlana Marshall

The absence of a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice in Guyana remains a concern for the judiciary, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Winston Anderson said.

Guyana has not had a substantive Chancellor for two decades.

In August, Justice Roxane George was sworn in to perform the duties of the Office of the Chancellor of the Judiciary, as Justice Yonette Cummings who has been holding the acting position since 2017 has proceeded on vacation leave.

Justice Cummings had taken over from Justice Carl Singh, who acted from 2005-2017.

In the case of the Chief Justice, Justice Navindra Singh was appointed to act as Chief Justice in August, as the Acting Chief Justice moved up to Acting Chancellor, while the official Acting Chancellor was on vacation.

“It is a concern, the judiciary of course would like to see the Chancellor and the Chief Justice confirmed in their positions. I am not speaking of any particular person but the Office of Chancellor and the Office of Chief Justice ought to be occupied by persons who are confirmed,” the CCJ President said.

For a Chancellor and Chief Justice to be appointed, the Constitution stipulates that there must be agreement between the President and the Opposition Leader. The last time such an agreement was reached was in 2001, when the late Justice Desiree Bernard was appointed Chancellor of the Judiciary. She, however, demitted Office in 2005 to join the Caribbean Court of Justice.

 The CCJ President, who as part of a Guyana visit met with the Judiciary, the Government, and the parties within the Opposition, said there was a commitment to resolve the issue.

“Both sides are committed to working towards a resolution of that problem. I know it was elusive for a very long time. Indeed I believe the last chancellor we had was Chancellor Bernard, which was like 20 years ago? That’s a pretty long time,” Justice Anderson said.

He said while there are peculiar issues that must be addressed, it is time substantive appointments be made.

“I do think the time has come for permanent appointments to be made. I believe that the Government is working towards resolving the issue, I believe that with our meeting with the parties, the opposition in the parliament, that they are also aware of the difficulties, and that they are also working towards a resolution of the problem and therefore I hope that by the next time I am in Guyana, that that matter be resolved,” the CCJ President said.

Justice Anderson’s predecessor, Justice Adrian Saunders in 2022 expressed disappointment that Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice for decades, having made an earlier call for substantive appointments to be made.

Almost three years ago, then Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton wrote to the President indicating his support of the confirmation of Justices Cummings and George to the two top judicial posts, but there was no movement on the issue from the President.

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