Guyana’s Justice sector made great strides in 2012

The current administration has long realised that the modernisation of its laws and an effectively functioning justice system bear a causal relationship to economic development and, ultimately the advancement of its people. And, it is against this background that the Administration has made continuous strides over the years to ensure Guyanese have a fair and ready access to justice.
In this regard, the government spent more than Gy$1.7B in 2011 for the continued development of the sector and this year, approximately Gy$2.1B was allocated.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall holds Executive and Parliamentary responsibilities for the Judiciary, the Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Deeds and Land Registries, and is also the principal Legal Advisor to the President and the Government of Guyana. He is also legal representative of all agencies of the State.
The Judiciary
The Judiciary under the Constitution of Guyana is an independent organ of state and while Minister Nandlall holds Executive responsibility in this respect, that sector is essentially self regulatory. However, the mandate of the Executive responsibility is to ensure that there are sufficient resources provided to ensure that the Judiciary functions in the manner contemplated by the Constitution.
Justice Modernisation
In this respect the need for the modernisation of the Judiciary was recognised by the administration, as well as other needs, by agencies which fall under the administration of the Legal Affairs Ministry. These include the Judiciary, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) as well as the Ministry of Legal Affairs. Thus, the justice modernisation programme was embarked upon, and under that project, several issues were to be addressed. The project is currently under completion and for the year 2012 many important aspects and tasks set were completed.
Upgrading infrastructure
Under the modernisation programme, Government continued to refurbish and rebuild Courts around the country. In excess of Gy$300M was spent to construct, rehabilitate and maintain court facilities countrywide this year. Works began on the renovation of the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court which is nearing completion. The New Amsterdam, Black Bush Polder/Mibicuri, and Reliance, Canje Magistrates Courts have all been completed. At Whim and Skeldon and Sisters’ Village on the East Bank, Corentyne, the Magistrate’s Courts have been rehabilitated. The Lethem Magistrate’s Court is currently being built while at the Leonora Court final touches are being done.
The physical structure of the DPP’s office has seen the office being expanded and the building renovated with final works currently being concluded.
Fort Wellington Court

The New Amsterdam, Black Bush Polder/Mibicuri, and Reliance, Canje Magistrates Courts have all been completed. At Whim and Skeldon and Sisters’ Village on the East Bank, Corentyne, the Magistrate’s Courts have been rehabilitated.
The physical structure of the DPP’s office has seen the office being expanded and the building renovated with final works currently being concluded.
Harmonious functioning of library and research
Continuous updating is ongoing with regard to the facilities at the Supreme Court and DPP libraries in Georgetown.  An interconnection wireless network has been constructed between the two agencies which will facilitate the harmonious functioning of these variously connected sectors electronically. Cabinet recently offered a no-objection to the contract for the provision of the equipment to facilitate this networking. The equipment is already available, but the establishment of the network is currently awaiting the completion of the various physical infrastructural works
Further, the publication of the Law Reports of all the major cases decided in Guyana from 1978 to 2008 has been completed. The reports are compiled in at least 14 volumes of books spanning that period. The books are in Guyana awaiting a formal launch along with an online reporting system on a data base acceptable to all.
All reported cases emanating from the Guyanese Courts dating back to 1932 to 2007 will also be accessible on line on a website available to all.
More reforms
Heavy investment has also been made in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms which began in Georgetown with the establishment of the Mediation Centre which has been incorporated into the formal legal system. Mediation is now a part of the justice system having been incorporated through legislation and established with accompanying physical infrastructure.
In Georgetown the centre is housed in the Compound of the High Court while Gy$25M was allocated for a building in the compound of the New Amsterdam High Court that will house a Mediation Centre for that county.
Work on the compilation of the Laws of Guyana is still ongoing with an expected launch in January 2013. There were several setbacks in this project due to the unexpected recognition of the enormous magnitude of the work which had to have been completed under that project.
The revision and updating of all Laws passed in Guyana from 1973 to 2010 had to be done. This included a massive amount of legislation which was scattered in and out of the jurisdiction including the Parliament of Guyana, the Attorney General’s Chambers, and the library of the University of the West Indies. Legislation also had to be accessed from England for laws passed in Parliament from as far back as 35 years ago. The gathering of this information will go towards the consolidation of the Laws of Guyana updated to the year 2010. This massive undertaking is expected to be finally completed by January 2013.
New Legislation
Several pieces of legislation have been placed before Parliament, one of which is the Official Gazette Bill, a very important legal document in Guyana’s legal landscape that will establish for the first time in the history of the country, an electronic copy of the Gazette which could be accessed online by persons in Guyana and elsewhere. This document contains several important notices and all publications of all Laws and Amendments passed by the Parliament; the publications of different decisions of Government, required by law to be published in the Official Gazette and other publications.
Currently, the Official Gazette is not readily accessible to members of the public; this situation is being corrected by placing it online. The infrastructure for this project has already been established and trial runs are currently being done.
Also on the legislative front, the Common Law Spouse Intestates Act has been assented to and this very important piece of legislation allows for persons who have been living in a common-law relationship for five years and over to be conferred with all the rights that are conferred upon a legal spouse after the death of the other. The differences in every area of the existing laws have been corrected regarding the law between a married person and a person in a common law relationship. The one gap that existed in this legislative infrastructure regarding common law relationships in the legal system was the recognition of the common law spouse after the death of one spouse. That anomaly in the law has now been corrected.
The Deeds Registry Amendment Bill which has also been placed before Parliament seeks to confer protection upon persons who enter into an Agreement of Sale with respect to real property in Guyana. Legislation laid in Parliament has sought to correct a lack (lacuna) in the law and to confer a legal protection and a legal interest on a Purchaser in an Agreement of Sale with respect to land. That Bill which is still before the Parliament has been sent to a Special Select Committee since the Guyana Bar Association wishes to have an input regarding this piece of legislation.
Appointments
A duly qualified Registrar of Deeds, who is also a lawyer, has been appointed after more than 35 years. This is viewed as a very positive development, simply because the Registrar of Deeds is expected to perform what is considered to be legally technical functions, which would indicate that a person who is trained as a lawyer would be suitably qualified to discharge the functions which devolve upon that office.
Additionally, three Judges have been recently appointed which now sees a full complement of such persons in the High Court for the first time in a number of years. This is another constructive move in terms of improving and expanding the human resource base of these agencies.
Backlog
The issue of the backlog of cases in the judicial system still remains perhaps the greatest challenge being faced and various means and mechanisms are being explored as work continues to address this very fundamental problem.
More Judges and Magistrates have been appointed and there are moves to appoint and establish more specialised Courts. These include a Commercial Court that only deals with commercial matters, a Constitutional Administrative Law Court that does only public law matters. And the Family Court is expected to become functional in 2013.
Parliament
The Legal Affairs Sector continues to face great challenges in the Parliament which necessitates continued vigilance and filing court proceedings on a regular basis, challenging the behaviour of the National Assembly.  Cases filed this year covered the cuts to the National Budget, the composition of the Parliamentary Committees and the no-confidence motion passed against Government Member of Parliament, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee.
Overall, the move towards modernisation of the sector in 2012, embraced several concepts that are intended to update the system and make it more accountable, transparent and efficient.
These reforms all form part of government’s efforts to improve efficiency not only in the justice sector but also in the public sector and in the quality of services which government is rendering to its citizens.