Bar Association Head comes down on side of Supreme Court in hiring row

Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall says his ministry proceeded to advertise for vacancies for the Supreme Court’s Verbatim Court Reporting Unit (VCRU) based on directions from the Public Service Ministry but President of the        Bar Association, Ronald Burch-Smith says the law strictly provides for the Supreme Court to make the decision.

The action has sparked a row between the Ministry and the Supreme Court of the Judicature on which entity has the authority to hire the judiciary’s staff. On August 1st the Supreme Court by way of an advertisement repudiated a notice by the Ministry of Legal Affairs in the July 27th edition of the Guyana Chronicle inviting applications to fill vacancies in the VCRU.

In the advertisement the Supreme Court said it will not recognize, and will   not accommodate anyone appointed pursuant to the notice as they would not be considered employees of the Supreme Court. The notice was signed by Supreme Court Registrar Rashid Mohamed.

Yesterday, Nandlall told Stabroek News that while the Supreme Court enjoys autonomy, some functions, including the recruitment of employees