CCJ asked to reconsider decision on Essequibo land dispute

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is presently considering an application made to reverse a decision it delivered on May 10th in a decades-long land dispute between two Essequibo brothers and retry the case, after a claim by the losing party that information was deliberately withheld from the court.

It is now being claimed that the respondent, Kowsal Narine, acquired a transport for the disputed land prior to the hearing and determination of the case by the Court of Appeal but never made mention of this to that court or the CCJ.

The post-judgement application, asking in part for the matter to be retried by CCJ, was filed on June 4th by attorney Anil Nandlall, who represents Narine’s brother, Deonarine Natram.

In delivering its judgment in the case of Narine versus Natram and former owners of the land Ashbourne Lipton Chan and Foster Gilford Chan, the CCJ, which is Guyana’s final appeal court, had ruled that Narine had been in “sole and undisturbed possession of the land since 1st June 1991 and that any title, right or interest of Deonarine had been extinguished pursuant to the Act.” The ruling affirmed a High Court decision made by Justice Roxane George, who had ruled that Narine had been entitled to the land through prescriptive rights.