Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 27, 2008 News
– Ramjattan
Attorney-at-Law and Member of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan has said that there is need for training of judges on the new developments of law in Guyana.
According to him, all judges in the judiciary should go overseas for training to develop knowledge of those areas of the law which have recently been implemented. One such area mentioned was the wiretapping legislation that was recently passed in Parliament.
“Lawyers in Guyana wouldn’t know anything about wiretapping legislation and when you read a bill it doesn’t mean that you know it very well.”
He opined that there is need for people who have advised on the need for those bills, to train judges and lawyers as to the purpose and how to give meaning to those pieces of legislation.
“Most of our judges will know the law largely as a result of what they use to practice and what they now do as judges in the High Court but when it comes to the new areas of law like wiretapping, the judge is not going to know anything.”
Ramjattan added that training in the new areas of law will broaden their horizons and judges need this kind of education from foreign judicial institutes.
Meanwhile, in addressing the issue of the backlog of cases, he said that while mediation has helped, there is a lot more work that needs to be done.
According to Ramjattan, lawyers and clients have been forced to deal with the Mediation Centre largely because of the extended period of time it takes for litigation in the High Court and so there has been a growing number of cases which judges have refereed to the Mediation Centre that are being resolved.
However, he added that the percentage of cases dealt with when measured against the percentage of cases filed is very small and so there still remains a serious backlog.
“There has been a positive development but it has a very far way to go.”
Ramjattan is adamant that the backlog reduction will come when judges take charge in adjudicating matters more speedily.
He also said that the adjudication process is stalled largely because lots of adjournments are asked by lawyers for clients go overseas.
“And when their trial dates are called there are adjournments…and then when fortuitously you have both the clients and the lawyers there and the trial is completed, the judge takes an unduly long time to write up their decision.”
“So I feel it is a problem with largely the quality of the judgeships…there needs to be lots more judicial training of our judges and they need to be asserting themselves over the court and the trial process more so as to get on with the business of ensuring that matters get started, that the process moves quickly and that it is determined shortly thereafter.”
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