Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams yesterday defended the appointment of attorney Rosalie Robertson as Registrar of Lands saying that government does not believe the appointment is illegal as argued by several lawyers including Guyana Bar Association (GBA) head Christopher Ram.
“We don’t share that view,” he told Stabroek News yesterday referring to the GBA’s view on the matter. “Lawyers must read the section, they will see that the section they are referring to is a sunset clause. When they read it they will see the words “for the time being.” After you appoint the registrar for the land registry that is the end of the provision so you don’t need to repeal anything; it’s a sunset clause,” he insisted.
He subsequently told the National Assembly as he made his contribution to the 2015 Budget debate that in addition to swearing in the land registry registrar, the government will shortly be appointing a registrar of the commercial court. These two offices will be housed in the former NBS building on Avenue of the Republic.
In a letter published in yesterday’s Stabroek News, attorney Leon Rockcliffe identified the new registrar of lands as attorney Rosalie Robertson. He called on Minister of State Joseph Harmon and Williams to speak on what he termed “the illegal appointment of the Registrar of Lands.”
Rockcliffe reiterated claims previously raised by Ram that any appointment of an individual as Registrar of Lands other than the Registrar or Deputy Registrar of Deeds is illegal.
The lawyers had pointed to Section 7 (1) of the Land Registry Act Cap 5:02 which provides as follows: “There shall be a Registrar of Lands and a Deputy Registrar of Lands who shall be the persons for the time being holding the Offices of Registrar of Deeds and Deputy Registrar of Deeds respectively.”
Williams said that government does not share their views.
In his budget debate contribution, he said that the appointments are all part of government’s fresh approach which will see “the pillars of justice being erected and the doctrine of the Separation of Powers restored.”
Declaring that “this government will set its face against arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention; against excessive delays in court trials whether criminal or civil,” Williams spoke about policy and infrastructural plans for the development of the justice system.
The budget, he said, “caters for dedicated lines and wide area network to facilitate the interconnectivity between the Commercial Registry and its sub-Registries in Berbice and Essequibo.
“A single jurisdiction database for registration of businesses and companies within CARICOM (Caribbean Community) is due to be installed in the Commercial Registry in 2015,” he added. According to the AG, the Supreme Court is now financially independent due to the passage of the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2015.
“We will revisit and review ‘paper committals’ which were intended to speed up preliminary inquiries in the Magistrates Court but are rarely resorted to by our magistrates,” he asserted while adding that the APNU+AFC government will implement measures such as Crime Scene Investigations and the training of police and state prosecutors as well as magistrates to enhance capacity in the trial process.
Former AG Anil Nandlall, in his contribution, said that there were not enough references to the budget estimates for the Justice sector.
Referring to Williams’ presentation, Nandlall said “he made not a singular reference to the Budget, what he did was simply give us some information that is available in the office of the AG without telling us what he has planned for the justice sector.” Nandlall further charged that “the budget speech is conspicuously silent on any matter concerning the administration of Justice.”
