Dear Editor,
I am yet again availing myself of the facility afforded by your newspaper to comment further on the following current issues of national interest:-
(a) The abolition of corporal punishment in the school system in Guyana
In a previous publication of your newspaper, I had stated for the information of your readers that Guyana, like other Caricom states, has ratified, without reservations, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which prohibits the inflicting of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in schools under the control and management of the state.
The Minister of Education is reported in your newspaper to have declared to your reporter her support for the abolition of corporal punishment from the school system in Guyana but that insistence on the retention of corporal punishment came from parents and guardians of students. My response is that the convention abolishes corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in schools under the control and management of the state. The convention, therefore, in my opinion, does not affect or impinge on the right of parents and guardians to resort to corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in the home. I must, nevertheless, draw the attention of your readers to the fundamental rights provisions introduced into Guyana’s constitutional arrangements since 1961 providing for internal self-government.
These provisions declare against “cruel and inhuman punishment” being inflicted or imposed on the individual. The issue, therefore, in my opinion, is to determine whether or not corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in schools in Guyana is prohibited (since 1961) by this constitutional safeguard.
(b) Illegal reproduction (piracy) of texts enjoying copyright protection
This comment is a sequel to the editorial comment on the above mentioned subject in the Sunday Stabroek of September 16, 2012 in which references were made to my published commentaries on copyright issues within the Caribbean Community (Caricom)
The Caricom Treaty contains provisions designed to provide for the protection of intellectual property rights within the Caribbean Community, due regard being given to the commitments of Caricom states under existing international instruments to which they are parties. Also, Caricom states, including Guyana, are parties to the recently concluded European Partnership Agreement which contains specific provisions intended to provide legal protection for the rights of the owners (creators/producers) of intellectual property.
Also, under the TRIPS Agreement – The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property to which Guyana is a party since January 1995, Guyana has undertaken obligations with respect to the protection of intellectual property rights.
I await with deep interest developments within Caricom in this area of the protection of intellectual property rights. The purpose of my interventions in your newspaper is to inform the Guyanese public, particularly the creative members of the Guyanese society and other lawful producers, of the legislative and other measures in existence for the protection of their works.
Yours faithfully,
Brynmor T I Pollard SC
