Recommendations for substantive Chancellor, Chief Justice unchanged – Pres. Ali

The recommendations for the substantive appointments of Justice Roxane George as Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Navindra Singh as Chief Justice remain unchanged, President Dr Irfaan Ali has confirmed on Wednesday.

“I had already expressed, through a letter to the then opposition leader [Aubrey Norton], my intentions of proposing the appointment of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice. That letter reaffirmed the position of the Government,” the President declared while responding to questions from the media on Wednesday.

Currently, Justice George is performing duties as acting Chancellor, and Justice Singh as acting chief Justice. They were appointed to these positions in August 2025.

Last October, President Ali had written to then Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, seeking his agreement for the substantive appointments of Justice George and Justice Singh in their respective posts, but this was never received.

Guyana has been without a substantive Chancellor and chief Justice for more than two decades, and there have been repeated calls from the legal fraternity for these key judicial positions to be permanently filled, with suggestions to change the requirements for these appointments.

Article 127 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states: “The Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall each be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition.”
This ‘agreement’ stipulation, however, has consistently resulted in political deadlock spanning over two decades and affecting five successive Presidential administrations.

“This is a grey area that we have to navigate carefully. The Government continued after winning the [September 2025] elections. In the continuity of Government, we have expressed or suggested, based on the Constitution, a recommendation in terms of the Chancellor and the chief Justice. That recommendation has not changed,” President Ali stated on Wednesday.

Guyana’s last substantive Chancellor was Justice Desiree Bernard, who served until 2005 when she left to join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Since then, Justice Carl Singh was appointed acting Chancellor – a position he held until his retirement in 2017 without being confirmed.

Justice Cummings-Edwards was then appointed acting Chancellor in 2017 by former President David Granger. He had also appointed Justice Roxane George as acting Chief Justice in 2017.

Prior to this, the late Justice Ian Chang was appointed acting chief Justice in 2005 and served in that position until his retirement in 2015.

Last year, Justice Cummings-Edwards proceeded on pre-retirement leave, resulting in President Ali naming then-acting Chief Justice George as acting Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Singh to perform the duties of the office of Chief Justice.

In addition to local stakeholders, regional officials, including successive CCJ Presidents, have also lamented Guyana’s failure to have substantive appointments in its two top judicial posts.

Only last October, the then newly-appointed CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson sounded calls for the swift appointment of these substantive offices during a visit to Georgetown.

“It is a concern. The judiciary, of course, would like to see the Chancellor and the Chief Justice confirmed in their positions. I’m not speaking of any particular person, but the Office of Chancellor and the Office of Chief Justice ought to be occupied by persons who are confirmed,” Justice Anderson told reporters.

The CCJ President had engaged the Government as well as the Parliamentary opposition parties during his visit to Guyana and contended that there is political will on all sides towards a resolution of this decades-long stalemate.

Guyana will soon be embarking on the public consultation phase of a national constitutional reform process, and this is likely to be one of the issues that could be addressed during this exercise.

Nevertheless, President Ali told reporters on Wednesday that he is committed to upholding the requirements of the Constitution when it comes to these important appointments. In fact, he noted that with the recent passing of two prominent members of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Chairman Patrick Findlay in January and Commissioner Clinton Conway in May, efforts should commence soon to fill these vacancies.

“The Appointments Committee of the Parliament has just been established. So definitely, wherever my role as President requires the constitutional functions to be executed, as President I strongly believe in democracy and the rule of law and governing in keeping with the Constitution; you can expect that I will uphold the requirements of the Constitution,” the head of state assured.