President Dr Irfaan Ali on July 11, 2025, wrote a letter to Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton indicating his interest in appointing Chief Justice (acting) Roxane George to serve as Chancellor (acting), as the current acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards proceeds on accumulated leave.
Norton was asked to respond by July 18; however, no response was received, Attorney General Anil Nandlall revealed on Tuesday.
As such, the Attorney General noted that not having received a response to the letter by July 18 means the President can proceed with the acting appointment.
In addition, the President had proposed the name of another judge to be appointed as acting Chief Justice during the period.
“In my respectful view, the President having not received any response from the Leader of the Opposition in the time prescribed, can proceed to appoint as he desires,” Nandlall said.
Justice George would be required to act in the position for three months since the Chancellor proceeded on leave from July 08 to October 07.
Instead of acknowledging the letter or dispatching a response, the Opposition Leader on a programme titled ‘GlobeSpan24X7’ raised concerns about the President’s approach. He alleged that the President is seeking to “shift away from having to have agreement with the opposition.”
But during his programme ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday, Nandlall said “there must be response and meaningful response from the Leader of the Opposition to these engagements initiated by the President… but here as far as I am aware, no response was received by the President by the Leader of the Opposition.”
He referenced 127 (2) of the Constitution of Guyana which states that if the office of the Chancellor or Chief Justice is vacant or if the persons holding the offices are, for any other reason, unable to perform their functions, those functions shall be performed by such other of the Judges as shall be appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.
While Norton has publicly indicated that there was no “meaningful consultation,” the AG referenced various court cases relating to the phrase, noting that there is no lack of guidance on this matter.
“The consultation is not a one-way street and in one of the judgements of the High Court on this matter, the court went at great lengths in dilating on that issue, in expounding on that issue, explaining clearly that the consultation contemplated by the constitution was a two-way process that the President must initiate but one hand cannot clap,” he said.
The Constitution mandates that the President and the Leader of the Opposition must agree on the appointments of the Chancellor and Chief Justice. However, political divisions have repeatedly stalled this process, leaving the positions to be filled in an acting capacity for over two decades.
Justice Cummings-Edwards has been serving as acting Chancellor since 2017, while Justice George was appointed acting Chief Justice in the same year.
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