Femi Harris-Smith

Almost a decade since the enactment of the sexual offences legislation, which expanded the traditional definition of rape, the judiciary is still encountering a lack of awareness among the citizenry.

Three of the five youths who pleaded guilty to killing retired professor Pairaudeau ‘Perry’ Mars were yesterday morning sentenced to a combined 34 years behind bars by Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has declined to fix timelines for general elections, which it says should be held in accordance with the Constitution following the December 21st, 2018 passage of a motion of no-confidence against the APNU+AFC government and it has further established that a “caretaker” administration now exists.

Sports-betting giant Superbet has sued the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Gaming Authority for not processing its application for betting licences and imposing the requirement of good standing certification as a precondition.

Two East Coast Demerara businessmen have together filed an $8 million lawsuit against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), whose customs officers they say wrongfully arrested and detained them on accusations of smuggling raw chicken into the country for sale to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

By Femi Harris-Smith While giving the government and the opposition more time to find common ground, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday set July 12th as the date when it will make orders based on its findings that the vote of no-confidence against the APNU+AFC administration was validly passed, thereby requiring elections, and that the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was unlawfully appointed.

UNICEF, in collaboration with the Judiciary, on Friday hosted a forum aimed at sensitising media operatives on the importance of providing fair, balanced and accurate reportage on domestic and sexual abuse cases. 

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday ruled that the no-confidence motion brought against the David Granger-led APNU+AFC administration was validly passed with the votes of 33 members of the 65-member National Assembly last December, thereby compelling the resignation of Cabinet and the holding of general elections.

Concrete products manufacturer KSM investments Incorporated has moved to the High Court to fight what it says is a decision by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to overestimate the value of its cement imports without any explanation and demand higher duties and taxes as a result.

Donald Rodney, brother of historian and politician Dr. Walter Rodney who was assassinated back in 1980, is seeking to appeal his 1982 conviction for possession of explosives without lawful authority.

As they had done the day before, judges of the CCJ yesterday continued to exhibit disfavour with the 34-32 formula that the government has advanced to thwart the December 21, 2018 motion of no confidence and the President of the court, Justice Adrian Saunders, rebuffed  as inapplicable, a case which state lawyers had cited as a precedent.

In a gruelling day of arguments about the validity of the December 21, 2018  motion of no confidence, several of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judges yesterday appeared to cast doubt on the controversial formula for deciding a majority that the government adopted.

The circumstances and justification for President David Granger’s rejection of three lists of candidates for Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) was one of the areas that CCJ judges yesterday grilled the government’s lawyers about.

Holding strongly to the view that he is the rightful owner of a plot of land over which he was found guilty of murdering his neighbour, Sukhdeo Dharamdat was yesterday sentenced to 65 years behind bars for the crime at the High Court in Georgetown.

Businessman Lawrence ‘Larry’ Singh on Wednesday lost his bid at recouping what he says are millions owed for rental of a Camp Street, Georgetown property, which he had sub-let to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in 2016 and a judge opined that the agreement’s evident breach of the procurement law warrants a criminal investigation.

The Commissioner of Police, as represented by the head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) Sydney James, on Monday failed in a bid to secure the forfeiture of more than $7 million in local currency and millions more in foreign currencies that the police say they unearthed during a search of the home of a Berbice resident as part of a money laundering probe.

The Court of Appeal has announced that it will soon be handing down a ruling on the appeals filed by government to challenge the validity of the December 21st, 2018 passage of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, which has triggered a bitter clash over the holding of new polls.

-says financing not an issue Dismissing claims by government and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) of the latter’s purported inability to hold elections before March 21st, attorney Anil Nandlall said that it is the role of the Commission to always be in a state of readiness to execute its mandate of holding elections.

Oral arguments on the validity of the no-confidence motion against government began yesterday in Guyana’s Court of Appeal, where Attorney-General (AG) Basil Williams warned of devastating consequences for the smooth running of the country if the finding that Cabinet should have resigned is allowed to stand.

Errol De Souza, a 42-year-old father of 12, was yesterday sentenced to a total of 44 years behind bars for two counts of raping a young girl.Two