Femi Harris-Smith

Attorney Ryan Crawford and his brother have been denied their attempt at ownership of some 100 acres of land, which they claimed had been given to their deceased father who was a lawyer, by a client in lieu of payment.

Justice of Appeal Prem Persaud will be remembered as a jurist who served his country and acquitted himself with distinction—entitling him a place in the annals of legal history—not only in Guyana but the Common-wealth Caribbean at large.

Sarah Browne and Vikash Ramkissoon whose appointments as parliamentary secretaries were nullified by the Court of Appeal, are challenging that ruling before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Ex-policeman Prince Reid has been handed a life sentence with the possibility of parole, only after serving 23 years, for the killing of two men into whom he had driven his minibus during a gaming fracas at Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Demerara, back in 2017.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in a majority judgment has ruled that former manager of the New Building Society (NBS), Maurice Arjoon, who was found to have been wrongfully dismissed, being entitled to accrued pension of some $59 million, is not also entitled to severance benefits.

The controversy-ridden elections for a new Management Committee of the GPSCCUL has taken another turn with disgruntled members complaining to the Ministry of Labour that the polls on Saturday violated rules.

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC has dismissed an application filed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, who was seeking to have former Minister of Finance Winston Jordan arrested without a right to be heard, and committed to be tried for the offence of misconduct in public office, which a Magistrate had discharged him of, after finding that there was not enough evidence to sustain the charge against him.

In a marathon hearing lasting just under five hours, the Caribbean Court of Justice yesterday heard arguments in the appeal filed by political commentator Ramon Gaskin, who has over the years strongly argued that separate environmental permits were not granted to Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd (Hess) and China National Offshore Oil Cooperation Guyana (CNOOC) for what he says is their involvement in oil production here.

As it had vowed, the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has moved to the court to challenge the planned deduction from salaries of teachers involv-ed in the ongoing industrial action, through which they are calling for better wages and improved working conditions.

Though found guilty of murder, former Sophia block maker, Ishaka John, has been sentenced to a minimum period of custodial detention of eight years; as he has also been declared insane.

“I want to apologize to the deceased family. I never meant to take their loved one’s life.”

La Parfaite Harmonie disc jockey (DJ) Roger Gibbons who prosecutors say pretended to be the well-known DJ Ace—and who allegedly lied to a young woman about being able to offer her a modelling job before raping her—has been found not guilty.

While he has not set a specific date, Justice of Appeal Rishi Persaud said that he will deliver his ruling within the next two weeks, on whether he has jurisdiction to order  ExxonMobil to provide proof that it has indeed lodged a US$2 billion guarantee which is intended to indemnify Guyana against an oil spill and associated perils.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has found that Jamaica—as a CARICOM Member State—has breached provisons of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) which is intended to protect products manufactured within the region, by imposing a 40% tariff on-like products being imported from external sources.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha has filed a $5m libel suit against Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton, who he says has accused him of corruption and for which he is seeking a retraction and apology.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday ruled that the Guyana Court of Appeal does have jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who has been trying to challenge a $20m default judgment imposed against him for not filing a defence in time to a defamation suit brought by former government Minister Annette Ferguson.

An application for proof that ExxonMobil has lodged a US$2 billion guarantee which is intended to indemnify Guyana against an oil spill and associated perils, is being resisted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the oil company, which are contending that the court has no jurisdiction to so order.

Despite a ruling by Justice Nareshwar Harnanan in November last year that deductions illegally made from striking Linden nurses in 2021 be repaid by December 31st 2023, the state has not complied and it says it will appeal the decision.

Former machine operator, Deonarine Seetaram of Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara (WCD), is now awaiting sentencing after admitting to the 2019 killing of re-migrant, Mohammed Shameem Hassan.

The Full Court last month ruled that  Scotiabank (Guyana) “negligently misdirected” $28 million paid by Core Investments Inc which was intended as the early extinguishing of a mortgage.