Yet another legal challenge mounted by the opposition to the appointment of Mr. Clifton Hicken as Police Commissioner was on Tuesday dismissed by Chief Justice (acting) Roxane George.
The ruling was welcomed by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, who on Tuesday evening pointed out that this is another loss for the opposition in relation to this matter.
“They have lost again,” he said during his programme ‘Issues in the News’. He also highlighted that in the previous cases, the opposition never filed appeals, “meaning that they have accepted those decisions as correct”.
“Let us see if they will appeal this one.”
Nandlall reiterated that there is nothing in the Constitution or Laws of Guyana which prohibits the President from extending the appointment of the Top Cop beyond the age of 55 years.
According to the AG, “the President may…after consulting with the Police Service Commission, allow that Commissioner of Police to continue to act in office until he or she reaches the age of 60 years old.”
The case was filed by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, Troy Garraway, represented by Attorney Dexter Todd.
According to Nandlall, “the Constitution defines a Commissioner of Police as an officer in command of the police force, however styled. So whether he’s acting, the Constitution also says that in relation to any office, whatever rules apply to the substantive holder of that office applies to anyone acting in that office.”
As such, he emphasised that the President was within his right to grant the extension; an extension which can be allowed up to 60 years of age.
“They couldn’t point to a single provision either in the Constitution or in any other law, and my understanding of law is that once something is not prohibited by law, then it is legal to do it,” Nandlall noted.
The Chief Justice, in her ruling, found that there are no legal provisions in the Constitution or the Constitution (Prescribed Matters) Act that prohibit the appointment of a Police Commissioner beyond the age of 55.
She awarded costs amounting to $500,000: $200,000 to the State and $300,000 to Hicken.
This is the third case filed against the Top Cop’s appointment.
Since he was appointed to act in the position in March 2022, then Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones filed a constitutional challenge, in which he claimed that the President failed to undertake “meaningful consultation” with the Leader of the Opposition or the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission (PSC), to make the appointment.
The case was thrown by the CJ, who ruled that given there was no Opposition Leader nor an active PSC when the appointment was made, the President acted out of necessity, deeming the appointment “lawful and reasonable.”
Subsequently, APNU’s Carol Smith-Joseph challenged the extension of Hicken’s acting appointment beyond the age of 55. This case was again dismissed.
In December 2024, Hicken was substantively appointed in the position.
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