New Rules of Court by yearend?

Drafted, re-drafted, re-read, tweaked, tweaked again, tabled, with repeated training. And yet, we are still awaiting the Civil Procedure Rules’ illustrious commencement and implementation in the hallowed halls of our Courts. The process has appeared so circular that some attorneys despaired whether the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), commonly known in Guyana and the Region as the ‘New Rules’, would reach the shores of Guyana. Any such doubts should now be dispelled following the assurances by the Chancellor (ag.) Mr. Carl Singh to the Council of the Guyana Bar Association that those Rules will be in place before the end of 2015.

Nearly two decades ago, the Commonwealth Caribbean was hit with the ‘New Rules’ fever! The need for a fair, speedy, affordable, intelligible, efficient, effective and user-friendly system for civil litigation (and we have by no means exhausted this list of adjectives!) was strikingly apparent.

The CPR as adopted in the UK and followed elsewhere, were designed to improve access to justice by making legal proceedings cheaper, quicker, and easier to understand for non-lawyers. They begin with a statement of “Overriding Objective”, both to aid in the application of specific provisions and to guide behaviour where no specific rule applies.

Following the UK model, several Caribbean territories have implemented their own civil procedure rules. Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean states have in fact made leaps and bounds, with the implementation of CPR and its complementary mechanisms to deal with issues of the backlog of cases, the training of judges, attorneys-at-law, court staff and the general edification of the public.

Reluctant at first, attorneys-at-law in those territories fraternities, whether willingly or by sheer necessity, have settled into their new homes, reportedly resulting in reductions in caseload, less delays in hearing of civil cases and a more understanding response from litigants, including the many poor and unsuspecting lay-persons who did not understand or could not speak legalese and desperately feared the very thought of a courtroom.

Lawyers’ acceptance is no doubt assisted by the training they receive at Hugh Wooding Law School where the Guyana-type Old Rules are considered an anomaly, requiring special needs. Indeed, many Guyanese students have for years been choosing those courses that apply the New Rules. Indeed, some students choose to enter practice in Trinidad and Tobago simply because the system there is more modern!

When the New Rules are introduced in Guyana, they will replace the lengthy and arguably antiquated and outdated procedures for which Guyanese attorneys-atlaw complain about the availability of textbooks. Indeed the High Court Act Cap. 3:02 of the 2012 Edition of the Laws of Guyana themselves do not contain those Rules!

Apart from making access to justice a simpler and easier road for litigants, the New Rules are designed to help eliminate the significant backlog of cases plaguing the legal system and the lengthy delays for matters to get to the point of trial. The New Rules will also foster greater use of mediation in civil matters and allow for efficient access and use of the Family Court and its sister rules, the Family Court Rules.

So are we ready to get started? Word from the top is by the end of 2015. Civil rules committees are working assiduously on the FINAL review of the rules. The Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) project is also on board to assist with the implementation process of the rules. The Project, a Caribbean initiative funded by the Government of Canada, with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the implementing agency, is aimed at improving court administration by strengthening the ability of the courts and the judiciary to resolve cases efficiently and fairly. Under this Project’s initiative, consultants from the Region and North America are pegged to carry out further training for the implementation process and to generally oversee the transition period.

The challenge is to ensure that the current initiative must not be allowed to fall into a dormant state again. The Bar Association must not only hold the Chancellor to his commitment but must be prepared to work with him and the rest of the administration of justice machinery to make the New Rules a reality by December 2015! The legal community in Guyana must push on, be prepared, and be in a state of readiness for this mammoth and metamorphic change.