A week ago, Justice Jacob Wit, a Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, participated in a Seminar at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on “Rethinking Criminal Justice.” It was a timely and important conference because our criminal justice system, like our appeal system, is in a state of collapse. This is no exaggeration because these systems do not deliver justice to the Guyanese citizen in a reasonable time, as provided for in the Constitution. Accused persons are tried years after they are committed to trial. Those on remand have to spend their time in prison. Civil appeals now take about six years to be heard. I hasten to add that this state of affairs is not the fault of judges. They work diligently and under great pressure.
