Dear Editor,
I refer to your letter dated May 20, 2010 and addressed to me (with letter to editor attached: ‘Why can’t an Essequibo civil case be heard in the High Court in Suddie?’ SN, May 15).
If a litigant from the Essequibo Coast files an action in the Supreme Court Registry in Georgetown, it must be obvious that, despite the location of the subject matter of litigation in Essequibo, he has elected that the matter be adjudicated upon in the High Court in Demerara. It may be that he or she has retained a Georgetown-based lawyer.
If the litigant on the other side is inconvenienced thereby and prefers that matter to be dealt in the High Court in Essequibo – especially if he or she has retained an Essequibo-based lawyer, he or she can, though her lawyer, request the Chief Justice to transfer the matter to the High Court in Essequibo. In such a case, counsel on both sides will be consulted and a decision made.
In the absence of any such representation, the matter remains where it is filed.
Often, it is not the location of the subject-matter of the action which is the source of inconvenience but the location of counsel and/or client.
All for your information.
Yours faithfully,
Ian N Chang, SC
Hon Chief Justice, (ag)
