Fourteen recorders specifically designed to be used in courtrooms have arrived in Guyana and will soon be handed over to the judiciary to be used in 14 courtrooms.

According to a press release from the British High Commission, the High Commission purchased the recorders along with microphones and cassettes, for the local judiciary to support the Government of Guyana’s judicial reform efforts.

The donation will also complement efforts here aimed at supporting security sector reform for which the British Government has set aside £5 million in assistance.

Magistrates and judges will use the equipment to record court proceedings. This means they will no longer have to take copious written notes and court cases will be speeded up. They can also refer to the recordings during the case and the recordings will be archived. At present there is no system in place to record proceedings in courtrooms.

The British High Commission will also provide training on the use of the equipment.
The release quoted British High Commissioner to Guyana Fraser Wheeler as saying, “The provision of recorders … will help speed up the judicial process and supplement the government’s judicial reform programme. Similarly we would like to work much more closely with the police, once we agree to move forward on security sector reform.“

The provision of the recorders also builds on previous support provided to the judiciary on domestic violence. Last year, through the High Commission, retired British Judge John Sessions visited Guyana where he assisted in the development of legislation, the release noted.

Following his visit, Justice Roxanne George and magistrates Melissa Robertson and Haymant Ramdhani travelled to the UK to attend seminars by the Judicial Studies Board on serious sexual offences. They will be using their experience from that visit to run a seminar in Guyana for all judges and magistrates, which the British High Commission is also supporting, the release said.