Guya Persaud has died

Dear Editor,

Guyana’s oldest legal luminary died a few days ago at his adopted home in Trinidad and Tobago. Ninety-six year old Guya L B Persaud served as a High Court and Appellate Court judge both in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. He also served for a few years as Head of the Hugh Wooding Law School in St Augustine.

His body was cremated on Saturday following a funeral service. The eulogy was read by Desiree Bernard, former judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and Chancellor of Guyana.

Justice Persaud who qualified as a lawyer in 1948 had a distinguished legal career in both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, He served as a member of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission as well as a Commissioner of the Law Com-mission in the twin island republic. He was known to be a gentleman and it is said that he never raised his voice and was unfailingly courteous in court, especially to young attorneys.

His decision about the admissibility of a confession statement was reviewed by the Privy Council and he became one of the leading authorities in that area of the law. He was also one of the three appellate court judges in the famous case of Mustspha Ally v Bookers. He left Guyana in 1976 and had been living in his adopted home until his demise.

He is survived by his widow Penelope, former Lieutenant of the Guyana Defence Force, and three children.

Yours faithfully,

Oscar Ramjeet