Gov’t will uphold constitution on Chancellor, CJ appointments

- MotP says in reply to Bar Association

The Ministry of the Presidency (MotP) last night labelled as reckless a statement by the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) expressing concern that appointments of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and a Chief Justice (CJ) might be made by the government outside of the constitutional provisions. (See story on page 9.)

In a release issued close to midnight, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that the “perplexing statement, made without any indication from the administration of any intention to ever operate outside of the Constitution of Guyana, was … reckless”.

Harmon said that President David Granger said explicitly on February 14th that he would be guided by the provisions of the Constitution of Guyana on the way forward for the two positions following the rejection of his candidates by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

“I have to be advised by my Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General. We cannot be without a Chancellor and a Chief Justice because right now two persons are acting and I had hoped that we could have moved forward by having a substantive or a full time appointment agreed, but this has not happened and the Constitution requires me to await the approval of the Leader of the Opposition and this hasn’t come so I will have to depend on legal advice and make sure that the Courts continue to function,” President Granger said, the release pointed out.

The constitution requires the agreement of the Opposition Leader before substantive appointments can be made to the two positions.

The release said that Harmon, in an invited comment, last evening, said that he is concerned at the “dangerous path that the Association is treading with its insinuations and strong assertions, despite the public statements made by the Head of State with regard to upholding of the Constitution. He described as reckless the statement attributed to the Association, which states that the climate surrounding the appointment of the two offices is `repugnant and shakes the public confidence in the legal system. It further unfairly undermines the dignity of the offices and office holders’”.

Harmon said that “This is a rash statement from a Bar Association… more importantly having regard for the recent actions of the administration in ensuring that at all material times that the appointments to the Judiciary were made in good time and based on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission. The President has been at pains to respect the Constitution. Every action, which he takes is underpinned by the provisions of the Constitution and so it is quite surprising to me that the Bar Association having regard to what the President has actually said that he respects the Constitution and that he will act in accordance, that the Bar Association arrived at a conclusion that basically says that the current climate is repugnant and shakes the public confidence in the justice system. Never before in the history of this country have we had nearly all judicial appointments filled. We do not have positions now that