Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 15, 2009 News
A judge has ordered the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to explain why a recent decision to send a magistrate home for two weeks should not be overturned.
Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond took the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to court earlier this month claiming that she was not given a fair chance to defend herself and therefore her suspension for two weeks should be overturned.
Responding to a motion filed by Nigel Hughes, the Magistrate’s lawyer, Justice William Ramlall on September 4 ordered a Rule Nisi of Certiorari directed at the JSC and/or Brynmore Pollard S.C., Justice Ian Chang, Justice Prem Persaud, Rtd. Justice of Appeal and Ganga Persaud, who are all members of the commission.
According to the order, the JSC and its members will have to show cause why they took the decision to send her home for being absent without approval “when the said Magistrate was never afforded an opportunity to respond to the said complaint and or allegation.”
The matter which came up yesterday will continue on October 12.
In her affidavit filed with the motion, Chandan-Edmond in explaining why she went out of Guyana said that on July 2, 2009, she was told that her aunt in Suriname had died and a funeral was scheduled for the next day there.
The following day, the magistrate turned up for work as usual at 09:00 hrs and concluded hearing her cases at 11:00 hrs.
The affidavit claimed that the official attempted in vain to contact the Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, and Justice B.S. Roy regarding her intentions to travel to Suriname for the funeral.
On her final attempt to call the Chancellor, she informed Mrs. Chandra Jagnandan of her intentions to attend the funeral.
Chandan-Edmond then travelled to Moleson Creek where she saw the Chancellor’s vehicle at the crossing to Suriname but was unable to speak with him since the “circumstances were not appropriate for my interruption.”
The magistrate said that while on the ferry to Suriname, she sought again to speak to the Chancellor but circumstances again prevented her.
After the funeral, the magistrate said she was returning on July 6 when she again saw the Chancellor on the ferry “in circumstances of some privacy which did not afford me an opportunity to communicate.”
Four days later, the magistrate received a letter from the Chancellor requesting an explanation why the official was absent from work on July 4.
“I submitted my written response on Monday the 13th day of July 2009 in which I pointed out that there was no such date as Friday 4th July 2009 as Friday was the 3rd day of July 2009.”
The magistrate said that she provided records of her cases heard on July 3 and other evidence. On July 22, she attended a meeting with the Chancellor to discuss the issue among other things.
On July 29, Chandan-Edmond was summoned to a meeting with the JSC where she was told of the allegation of being absent from work on July 3.
“The only complaint which was addressed and attended to was the allegation that I had departed the jurisdiction without permission of my functional superiors.”
On September 1, the magistrate received a letter dated July 31 from the commission which said that after considering the seriousness of the absence from duty without approval, a decision had been taken for the two weeks’ suspension from official duties along with the loss of one week’s pay.
The suspension, according to the JSC’s letter, took effect from September 7.
The magistrate, according to the affidavit, argued that the JSC “breached the rules of natural justice and acted ultra vires when they failed to afford me an opportunity to defend myself against a complaint that I was absent from duty without approval.”
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
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