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Pres. Ali gives no timeline for substantive appointment of Chancellor and Chief Justice
Kaieteur News- President Irfaan Ali has given no timeline or reason for the delay in appointing a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice.
Justices Yonette Cummings – Edwards and Roxane George have been acting in position as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice respectively since 2017.
Speaking at his end-of-year press conference on Tuesday, President Ali told reporters that the appointment of permanent office holders to the two top judicial posts is continuously and carefully being looked at.
Chancellor (ag) of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George. (Pres. Ali gives no timeline for substantive appointment of Chancellor and Chief Justice)
He nevertheless, refused to give a specific reason behind his administration’s decision not to confirm the current office holders.
“There’s a process to be followed and, as the President, I would follow the process, taking into consideration all the circumstances that exist to ensure that we have a Chancellor and Chief Justice that would continue to take the judiciary into a place that all of us will be proud of, all of the region will be proud of,” he said.
The President also denied that the delay in appointing the substantive office holders has anything to do with the number of judgments emanating from the local courts that have been overturned by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“I’m not going to comment …on the statement that a lot of political cases are being over turned by the CCJ. That has no impact… that is why you have the judicial course and that is how the courts operate. That is why you have persons who can go to superior courts…It has no impact on our decision-making…” Ali said.
The President’s comments are in keeping with the position taken by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC who when asked about the issue declined to comment.
In response to a question posed at his year-end press conference, Nandlall, noted that “That’s a presidential decision, and the President will make that decision at the appropriate time. You can ask the President.”
“I have advised the President that he should choose his candidates carefully. The decision is his, provided that it finds agreement with the Leader of the Opposition,” the Attorney General told reporters.
Last week, the Alliance for Change (AFC) in a statement to the media, once again highlighting “a gaping hole in our good governance and democracy tapestry, and that is the continuing absence of substantive appointments of a Chancellor and Chief Justice, and the need to mend it.”
Noting that, “This imperfection has to be taken care of” the AFC said that it appears that the ruling Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) “prefers to make appointments everywhere else than in the judiciary.”
“One wonders whether this refusal has anything to do with the fact that the two acting heads of the judicial branches, are women and of one ethnic group. We hope that this is not the case. Or is it that the PPP wants rank loyalists to be partisan minions, who will repeat and carry out whatever political instructions are given,” the statement from the party said.
Further, the AFC said that it is time that Justices Cummings-Edwards and Roxane George be appointed as Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively.
“This should be the first order of business before imminent appointments to the Court of Appeal are made,” the party said while reminding that Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton has publicly repeated his ‘no objection’ to the appointments.
“So constitutionally, there is nothing preventing the appointments. Constitutionally and legally, the government has no excuse whatsoever for not proceeding with the appointments,” the AFC said.
The party said too that the government seems to be enjoying photo opportunities given the publicity given to the opening of new and refurbished courts “but just below the surface of the paint and varnish, is a judiciary that is struggling to maintain its confidence and efficacy, as the third and independent branch and of government.”
“This is most evident in the stubborn refusal to appoint the extant acting Chancellor and Chief Justice,” the AFC said.
Justice Desiree Bernard was the last confirmed Chief Justice from 1996 t0 2001 and Chancellor from 2001 to 2005.
(Pres. Ali gives no timeline for substantive appointment of Chancellor and Chief Justice)
(substantive appointment of Chancellor and Chief Justice)
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