By Svetlana Marshall

A Legal Conference on Criminal Justice Reform opened at the Mariott Hotel this morning with President Irfaan Ali highlighting the issue of “predictability” in the Justice System.

At the conference, which has brought together legal luminaries from Guyana and the region, the President said there must be consistency in decisions handed down by the Courts, warning that variation in decisions can expose the Justice System to “all sort of assertions.”

“What do I mean when I speak about judicial predictability? The soundness of decision making in the judiciary, the structure of the judiciary, the quality of decisions, and importantly, the consistency of decisions are important elements, in my humble opinion, of judicial predictability…If we examine similar issues by different magistrates across the region, this is not a Guyana issue or a Trinidad issue, and see the variation, the variation in decision, then it exposes the system to all sort of assertions and we have to guard the system, and the only way we can guard the system is if the elements of judicial predictability that is based on fairness, justice, is kept intact,” the President reasoned. 

Further, he said in this era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Regional Judiciary appears to be lagging behind, and must, therefore, put the requisite systems in place to catch-up with global technological advances.

It was against this backdrop that he underscored the need for the continuous education of lawyers, Magistrates and Judges. The Caribbean Court of Justice’s (CCJ’s) Academy for Law, President Ali said, can play an even greater role in this regard. 

“But that academy, in my humble opinion, must focus on the emerging issues, and maybe through an accreditation process design short executive programmes that give our lawyers and judges specialized training, and specialized certification, maybe international certification too on key issues and challenges that we are facing now, and we will face in the future,” President Ali said. 

He said in a meeting with the President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, he offered Guyana’s continued support to the advancement of education at the level of the CCJ. 

President Ali also spoke of the need to address the root causes of crime, and the importance of political stability, the rule of law and democracy in the maintenance of law and order. 

“If there is political instability, if the rule of law does not exist, if society operates in an undemocratic, or in an undemocratic environment, criminality feeds off of that. So, it is very important also that in examining the entire eco-system, surrounding the criminal justice system, that political stability, the rule of law, and democracy forms an important platform for the system to operate under,” the President said. 

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senior Counsel Anil Nandlall said the conference forms part of the Support for Criminal Justice System (SCJS) Project, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and is intended to effect reforms in the Criminal Justice System of Guyana.

The Attorney General said the Conference was inspired by the 7^th Biennial Law Conference of the CCJ Academy for Law, which was held in Barbados in October 2023.

“As students of the law, we know too well that the law must remain organic; and must be nurtured, shaped and moulded to meet the exigencies of an ever-evolving society and the dynamic human conduct it is intended to govern. On the converse, stagnation of the law will result in societal evolution beyond the regulatory capability of the law. This resultant social advancement without a commensurate legal regulatory framework, is what leads to a breakdown of law and order and consequential social chaos. Unfortunately, such is the legal and social reality in almost every jurisdiction across our Region, with a spiralling rate of violence, crime and ensuing social turmoil,” the Attorney General said. 

Mr. Nandlall said this stark reality was recognized at a Summit of the Heads of CARICOM and a number of Conferences in the region in 2023, which gave rise to the Needham’s Point Declaration.

Chief Justice of Belize, Louise Blenman, said the Needham’s Point Declaration is already being advanced in Belize with a number of changes taking effect in the Justice System. Chief Justice Blenman is Guyanese and the first woman to hold the position of Chief Justice in Belize.

“We embarked on a robust and facilitative case management training of judges to encourage comprehensive and attentive case management before and during trial, to aid with the swift dispensation of justice. Our reinvigorated approach to criminal case management has afforded judges, the prosecution and defence counsel the facilities to telescope the evidence before the court. The most immediate result is that less adversarial practices are being deployed by counsel, which augurs well for speedy justice and less protracted trials,” Justice Blenman said. 

The Chief Justice of Belize said there is also a renewed commitment to the reduction of the backlog of cases.

Additionally, she said there is buy-in for Judiciary-led reforms from other arms of Government, as a result of the adoption of the Needham’s Point Declaration. 

Chairman of the CCJ Academy for Law, Justice Winston Anderson; Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings and IDB Country Representative, Solorzano Salazar were among the officials present for the opening of the conference, which concludes on Thursday.

Related posts:

President still not ready for substantive appointments to top Judicial posts President still to decide on nominees for top Judicial posts Harmon calls on President to begin process to confirm Justices Cummings and George in top judicial jobs President has no plan to offer new Judicial nominees, but will consult with legal advisors