Some judges are still taking inordinate amount of time to deliver decisions

Dear Editor,

It is deeply concerning that certain Justices in the High Court of Guyana appear to be taking an inordinate amount of time to give judgments on matters. “Justice delayed, is justice denied” (William E. Gladstone). It is hard to understand why matters continue to languish in the courts while applicants continue to suffer. Recently, a friend of mine complained bitterly that she has a matter before a certain Justice in the High Court. Hearings concluded almost one year ago but the Justice is yet to rule on the matter. While all of that is happening she is forced to endure hardship and to suffer indignity because she cannot move forward with her life. It is impacting her life in a negative way. In fact, as a result of that she has fallen ill; a serious new setback in her life, which continues to be plagued by a series of unfortunate events.

Delay in judgment can be more than just inconvenience; it can be a violation of a person’s constitutional rights. But is it that Justices can take as long as they want to rule on a matter or is there a stipulated time by which they should give their decisions? Again, at what point does a delay in judgment by a Justice becomes unreasonable? I understand that the lack of resources and other systemic challenges at our courts do increase the burden of cases before Justices. Some of those cases are extremely complex requiring substantial research and study. Others are of exceptional circumstances. I can only imagine, the amount of hard work and time, these Honourable Justices must put in to make good and wise judgements. But surely, there must be some guiding principle as to how long, how much time, a Justice can take to give a ruling after all hearings in a matter have concluded; it cannot be an open- ended situation. In many cases, those, who are seeking justice and help from the courts are poor, vulnerable and disadvantage. Protracted and unreasonable delays in judgments can, indeed, exacerbate their troubles and set them further back in life.

I am respectfully asking those in authority to pay attention to this issue of unreasonable delays in cases, in particular, the competent authority need to consider the time factor in the delivery of justice to those who seek the assistance of the court.

Sincerely,

Anthony Subner