Government’s Legal Team welcomes CCJ ruling

Responding directly to the dissenting judgement, Barbadian Attorney Ralph Thorne said “There is no comfort to be taken there. As I understand it when that amendment was made Mr. Jagdeo was in government and he made the amendment. So that dissenting judgement criticises what he did then so I don’t think there is any comfort to be taken by the present opposition.”

Government’s Legal Team welcomes CCJ ruling

-by  Kurt Campbell-

The Legal Team which represented the Government of Guyana in the Presidential Term Limit Appeal case at the Caribbean Court of Justice, has welcomed the Court’s decision in upholding the changes that were made to the Constitution.

Solicitor General Kim Kyte and Barbadian Attorneys Ralph Thorne and Hal Gollop celebrated as they watched the ruling via skype at the Guyana Court of Appeal building.

The full Court of the CCJ sat to hear the case with six of the seven Justices upholding the State appeal while a lone Justice in the person of Winston Charles Anderson dissented.

The case which many believe was the deciding factor for whether Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo will contest the 2020 elections, ruled that the amendment to Guyana’s Constitution which introduced the two-term limit, were legitimate and did not diminish a citizen’s right to elect a President.

Responding directly to the dissenting judgement, Barbadian Attorney Ralph Thorne said “There is no comfort to be taken there. As I understand it when that amendment was made Mr. Jagdeo was in government and he made the amendment. So that dissenting judgement criticises what he did then so I don’t think there is any comfort to be taken by the present opposition.”

Former President Jagdeo is currently the Leader of the Opposition and the General Secretary of the opposition People’s Progressive Party.

Meanwhile, his colleague Hal Gallop believes the dissenting judgement does not capture the fact that there is already a  restriction on who should be chosen as President in Guyana, brought about by the system of proportional representation.

“I do not agree with him that under the present system of proportional representation there can be rights abrogated as his dissenting judgement suggests… in my view the dissenting judgement of Mr Anderson is more futuristic.”

The Attorneys wanted it to be made clear that the CCJ was the final Court and there is no likelihood of a challenge to the CCJ decision in the future.

“It is important that a law which was passed by a Parliament which was not divided… a law upon which this country was united and the National Assembly was united should be struck down purely for the individual ambitions,” Throne added.

Solicitor General Kim Kyte said it is important that the CCJ has dealt with the matter and she believes Guyana will remain at peace even as she observed the margin of the ruling.

“Seven sat and six ruled in our favour so we are extremely happy, we feel vindicated and Guyana will remain at peace.”

In 2001 the National Assembly passed Act No 17 of 2001 following a bipartisan Constitution reform process. The Act saw the amendment of Article 90 of the 1980 Constitution.

The amendments set a two-term limit for Presidents and specifically outlines the qualifications for a presidential candidate.

Former Acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang, shortly before leaving office, ruled, among other things, the presidential term-limit was unconstitutional without the approval of the people through a referendum.

The ruling also allowed for Jagdeo to run a third term for president. It further allowed for naturalised citizens to run for president and it invalidated the requirement that a presidential candidate be present in Guyana on Nomination Day.

That decision was appealed but in 2017 the Court of Appeal, shortly before then Acting Chancellor Singh demitted office, upheld the Chang ruling that Act 17 of 2001 was unconstitutional by split decision. Singh and Justice Roy ruled to uphold the decision while CJ Cummings-Edwards dissented.

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