Steering clear of a commitment to the confirmed appointments of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice of this country, President Irfaan Ali yesterday said this will occur at the “appropriate” time.
Peppered with questions at a press conference he hosted at State House, Ali did not answer if the nearly two decades-old delay in appointments was due to the fact that some court rulings on political matters were not in favour of his government or party.
With three years of his term already completed, the President would only say that the functions of the Chancellor and Chief Justice of the country were being undertaken and that substantive appointments would come after the holistic works of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) were carried out.
“Now at the appropriate time, just as I had appointed the Judicial Service Commission, this matter will be dealt with,” Ali yesterday said. There is no connection between the confirmed appointments of the Chancellor and the CJ and the work of the JSC.
First asked about an update on the appointments, the President’s response was that the JSC had started its work.
“I can’t say much at the moment but to say, now we have a Judicial Service Commission. My last update from the commission is that they have started their work. They are looking at the judiciary in a broader holistic way. It is not only the Chancellor and Chief Justice we are talking about. It is the entire judicial system. So they are looking at this in a very holistic and broad way and I don’t want to speak on behalf of the JSC but I know they have started their work.”
Pressed further on the issue, he stated that the country was not without persons in the positions.
“There is a way things are done; the right way and the wrong way. And I have said what is the right and wrong way. I said the JSC was in place… that commission will now conduct its work independently, not only of the issue of the Chancellor and Chief Justice but I know they are working on the judiciary in its macro form. Because there is a lot of vacancies and appointments that needs to be made. Having said that, I have said, the country is not without a Chancellor and Chief Justice. We have a Chief Justice and a Chancellor who have the power to execute their duties to the fullness of the constitution”, he said.
When told by a reporter that the appointments of the Chancellor and Chief Justice were not tied to the completion or any works of the JSC, the President repeated that the country was not without persons acting in the two posts.
“I said the Judicial Service Commission because my view of this is that we have to look at the entire judiciary. We are not without a chancellor and chief justice. I want the work of the JSC to be expanded so that we can understand the fullness of the issues and challenges of the judiciary so that we can address this in a holistic way.”
He also observed that he had pointed out that “there are numerous vacancies within the judiciary itself” and said that at the appropriate time the matter will be dealt with.
Those numerous vacancies referred to by the President built up over three years of not moving for the recomposition of the JSC.
Shape or form
“I have not said, in any way, shape or form that this matter is not going to be dealt with. But let me also say to you and remind you that our country is not without a Chief Justice or Chancellor. I just want to keep reminding you. It can easily be interpreted that we are without”, he said.
Asked if government’s sloth in substantive appointments was connected to rulings by the court on political matters such as the 2018 no-confidence motion, and to what extent those rulings are a considered in making the appointments, Ali digressed.
“Democracy is a funny thing, eh? We have not only been critical on some of the rulings, we have been vindicated. You forgot that. You forgot there is a final court called the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) and every time we have had an objection to a ruling, we have done what is right under the rule of law. We respectfully went to the CCJ and I don’t have to tell you the results,” he said.
The President of the CCJ had urged that the long-awaited confirmed appointments be made no later than the end of last year.
Questioned whether he had concerns that the posts have had acting persons for many years, he said he did not. “No,” he emphasized.
“The roles of and the functions of the chancellor and the chief justice as by the constitution is fulfilled. Just like you have an acting commissioner of police. So I will be clear, there is a chancellor and chief justice in the offices of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice, fulfilling the roles of the Chancellor and Chief Justice. There are a number of challenges in the judiciary, including things the JSC is working on. As I have said before, that will be addressed,” he added.
Pressed on if he believed the long periods this country has gone without a Chief Justice and Chancellor was an indictment of its leaders, including him, as it could lead to the the perception that they are not serious about the rule of law or the judiciary, and separately asked if he was comfortable about possibly serving two terms with acting appointments, he replied that he wanted a system that works.
“I won’t put it the way you are putting it. I would put it this way. There are three arms of government. We want to have excellence at every arm. How I see it, when I continue in office as we build a country 2030 and beyond with the power of the people…,” the President said
“What I’m concerned about is an effective judicial system, one that we can rely on. One that the international community can rely on, one that is efficient and supported by necessary technology and infrastructure that will make them efficient, one in which we have the full complement of judges and magistrates and that is what the JSC is for, so I’m not going to confine myself to individuals or posts. I’m going to confine myself to the system and I must get a holistic system,” he added.
It is not the first time that Ali has veered away from addressing the issue. Last September, when pressed on the matter during an exclusive interview with Stabroek News, Ali sought to brush the matter aside.
“… So let me say very clearly, at the appropriate time the matter of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice will be brought on the agenda. You have a Chancellor. You have someone performing the duties of a Chancellor right now. How do you think I was sworn in? Who swore the President in? It is the Chancellor, the Acting Chancellor who swore… So, I don’t know, it’s not like the country is without a Chancellor,” he had said.
Addressing the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) dinner on April 9th last year, Justice Adrian Saunders, President of the CCJ called for the substantive appointment of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and a Chief Justice before the end of the year.
In his address, Justice Saunders said: “There is one significant blot on an otherwise impressive Guyanese legal and judicial landscape. For the country to have not appointed a Chancellor for 17 long years is very disappointing; likewise, to be without an appointed Chief Justice for several years. As the President of your final court, I believe I have a right and a duty publicly to express the view that Guyana should not let this year pass and not remedy this regrettable situation.”
A confirmed appointment requires the President and the Leader of the Opposition to agree on the candidate.
