GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, said Friday he would not respond to a request from President Irfaan Ali for consultation regarding the appointment of the Acting Chief Justice, Roxane George, to the position of Acting Chancellor, who is due to go on leave.
Additionally, Ali is seeking support from Norton for the recently appointed Justice of Appeal, Narendra Singh, to be appointed as Acting Chief Justice.
Guyana has not had a substantively appointed Chancellor and Chief Justice for almost 20 years, with two former presidents of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the country’s highest and final court, expressing their concerns about the existing situation.
“One would have thought that if the government were going to operate fairly, they would have taken one of the senior Judges to become the Acting Chief Justice, because they say they will make the present Acting Chief Justice, the Acting Chancellor, and then they recommend to me one of the junior Judges who the general view is, has links to the People’s Progressive Party and may not necessarily operate based on the rule of law,” Norton told reporters.
He stated that other judges are senior to the proposed judge and that no consideration had been given to them.
For a Chancellor and Chief Justice to be appointed, there must be agreement between the President and the Opposition Leader as required by the Constitution.
Norton had previously called for the incumbent Acting Chancellor and the Acting Chief Justice to be confirmed in their positions, but the request has not found favour with the head of state.
Norton told reporters that the acting appointments do not require the agreement of the Opposition Leader, as is necessary for substantive appointments, and that he does not believe the President is capable of “meaningful consultation”.
“Because it [Constitution] does not demand agreement like the substantive appointment, it demands meaningful consultation. Now, Irfaan Ali has not demonstrated the ability to consult, let alone meaningfully. So, I thought it would have been a waste of time,” Norton said, adding that his response could have been interpreted as “meaningful consultation”.
Norton said as such, in a strategic move, he has opted not to respond to the President.
Justice Yonette Cummings has been the acting Chancellor since 2017, having replaced Justice Carl Singh, who served from 2005 to 2017.
Acting Chief Justice Roxane George has been in the position since 2017.
Norton said with regional and general elections due to be held on September 1, “one would have thought that with elections under a month away, he (President Ali) would not have gone in that direction, however, we expect to be in government and those are issues that we can deal with,” Norton said.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall has stated that, with no response from the Opposition Leader, the President can now proceed with the appointments of the acting Chancellor and the acting Chief Justice.
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