President Dr Irfaan Ali has committed to addressing the issue of the substantive appointments of a Chancellor and Chief Justice.
“We do have a Chancellor and Chief Justice acting, just as we had an acting Commissioner of Police before his recent confirmation… So, as President, the issue of the Chancellor and Chief Justice is one that is being continuously looked at,” he told reporters during a press conference today.
The Head of State emphasised that the appointment process for these pivotal positions requires careful consideration and adherence to established procedures.
“As President, I will follow the process, all the circumstances that exist to ensure that we have the Chancellor and Chief Justice that would continue to take the judiciary into a place that all of us will be proud of. All of the region will be proud of”.
The President went on to emphasise the importance of an independent judiciary.
Guyana’s judiciary has faced a prolonged history of acting appointments in its highest offices.
Justice Desiree Bernard served as the first female Chancellor of the Judiciary from 2001 to 2005 before her elevation to the Caribbean Court of Justice. Since then, successive administrations have struggled to secure the necessary bipartisan agreement required under Article 127 of the Constitution for these appointments.
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 Yonette Cummings-Edwards has been serving as acting Chancellor since 2017, while Justice Roxane George was appointed acting Chief Justice in the same year. Calls for substantive appointments have been a recurring demand from legal professionals, civil society groups, and international organisations, who argue that the long-standing acting appointments undermine the stability and perception of the judiciary’s independence.
Efforts to resolve the impasse have been sporadic, with varying degrees of progress made under different administrations.
