Court stays hearing Slowe’s application to block senior police promotions

Jul 12, 2022 News

– pending outcome of appeal case

Kaieteur News – High Court Justice Gino Persaud took a decision on Monday to postpone hearing an application for an injunction to block the recently announced senior police promotions.

High Court Justice Gino Persaud.

The court action was initiated by former chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Paul Slowe.

Slowe who is also a Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police is seeking an injunction against the reconstituted Police Service Commission (PSC) which recently promoted several officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

When the matter came up virtually before Justice Persaud at the Georgetown High Court on Monday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC raised an objection to the matter being heard in the face of another application in relation to the same matter at the level at the Appeal court. Nandlall related that an application had been filed before the Appeal Court over the decision of the Full Court to uphold the ruling to continue hearing Slowe’s application challenging President Irfaan Ali’s decision to suspend the PSC. The AG explained that the application before the Appeal Court should take precedence given it is a Court of higher jurisdiction. He therefore asked the judge to stay the hearing of the application for an injunction until the hearing and determination of the matter before the Appeal Court.

Former PSC Chairman, Paul Slowe.

Several of the attorneys who attended the court case agreed with the AG’s contentions and raised no objection to his request. As such, the matter has been adjourned until July 22, 2022 for further consideration on the way forward. According to court documents seen by this publication, Attorneys-at-Law Selwyn A. Pieter’s, Dexter Todd and Dexter Smart filed the motion on behalf of Slowe,. Those listed as the respondents are Secretary of the PSC, Commissioner of Police (Ag) Clifton Hickens, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, and Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

According to Slowe’s court filing, he is seeking the injunction to restrain the PSC and the respondents from promoting or publishing a promotions list for members of the GPF, until the substantive matter filed herein is heard, completed and judgment is made and entered by the sitting judge – an order that each party bears his own costs in this Application – and any other order the court may deem just.

One ground listed for the challenge notes that as part of the duties of the PSC, the previous members had drafted a list of 132 police officers to be promoted to various ranks in the GPF and sent that list to the Secretary of the PSC to have it transmitted to the Commissioner of Police, for the promotions to be effected.

It was further stated that the promotions list was not sent by the Secretary of the PSC and as such the promotion of the Police Officers was not done. Another listed ground for the application is that the injunction that is being sought will assist in preserving the status quo of the proceedings and that of the GPF.

It was stated that should the injunction not be granted and the new PSC be allowed to promote members of the force, there will be inevitable difficulty at the end of the proceedings. It was also stated “that should this injunction not be granted and the Police Service Commission be allowed to promote members of the Guyana Police Force, and this matter is subsequently completed and the previous promotions on the past list is effected, there will be inevitable issues as to which officers are of a higher rank, than others.”

It was suggested too, that if the promotions were to be backdated then there will be future problems as to who will be entitled to be commanders and even Commissioner. According to the document the granting of the orders sought, will assist in the preserving of the status quo and ensuring that the new PSC do not act in a manner prejudicial to those officers named in the previous promotions list of June 28, 2021.