CCJ says its remains uninfluenced by political, external forces

Georgetown: The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) reminded the public that it is independent and remains uninfluenced by political and external forces.

(L-R) Justice Jacob Wit, Justice Winston Anderson, President of the CCJ Justice Adrian Saunders, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Justice Denys Barrow, Justice Andrew Burgess and Justice Peter Jamadar.

The court on Wednesday provided this assurance on its Facebook page where it pointed to matters relating to judgements of the court, the selection of judges and the expectations of these judges.

“The court does not rely on governments for funding, so the court will never be compromised by financial pressure from any government,” the court stated. The CCJ is Guyana’s final appellate court to which the country acceded in 2005.

The court’s notice went on to inform the public that judgements in the court are made by a panel of at least three judges and, in other cases, panels of five to seven judges will determine a matter. In noting its independence, the court explained that judges of the CCJ are selected by the 11-member Regional Juridical and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC).

It said that none of the members of the RJLSC are politicians and are citizens of countries across the Region.

“When appointing a person to the office of judge, the RJLSC must look for the following characteristics: high moral character; intellectual and analytical ability; sound judgement and an understanding of people and society. Judges are expected to demonstrate high moral character,” the notification stated.

It later added: “Judges of the CCJ have security of tenure, so that they cannot be removed if they rule against a government. However, they can be removed by the RJLSC, using a specific tribunal, for an inability to perform the functions of their office or for misbehaviour.”

Guyana accounted for 54 per cent of all cases heard by the CCJ during August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019. The most recent matters dealt with by the court in relation to Guyana include the Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali v Eslyn David et al case; the Christopher Ram v The Attorney General et al case; Bharrat Jagdeo v. The Attorney General et al case and the Charrandass Persaud v Compton Herbert Reid et al case.

The CCJ was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the Region’s final court. That year, the agreement establishing the CCJ was signed while the inauguration of the court was held in 2005.