No senior counsel appointment since 1996

Georgetown: The non-appointment of Senior Counsels in Guyana for the past 16 years is unfortunate and of serious concern, legal practitioners have noted recently. The last set of senior counsel appointments was done in1996. 

Those appointed were Justice Ian Chang, S.C, now the acting Chief Justice; Ralph Ramkarran S.C., the former speaker of the National Assembly; Charles Ramson, the former Attorney General; Richard Fields, Moen McDoom, and Samuel Brotherson (deceased).
It was explained that the Chancellor, Carl Singh, would make the recommendation to the President. The chancellor would also consult with his judges with regard to the recommendation. After that is done the President would then act on that recommendation. However, according to a legal source, the appointment has a lot to do with politics.

It was explained that there are many junior lawyers who have served in the profession.

Former President of the Bar Association, Teni Housty, had suggested that the politics should be removed from the appointments and the appointment should be processed.
In the past, he said that many lawyers had called for the introduction of a more transparent process for the appointment.
Housty had revealed that the failure to appoint senior counsel can be seen as a disservice not only to the legal profession in Guyana, but also to the State and society as a whole.
In his explanation, he said that the failure operate at both a philosophical and practical levels. From a philosophical level, according to Housty, the non appointment of senior counsel comes at a point when most Guyanese are asking, “Where are the role models?”
The failure to appoint, he says, is yet another wasted opportunity to recognise role models not only in the profession but also in society as a whole. The appointment of senior counsel is one chance for the State and the legal profession to act together in support of the administration of Justice in Guyana.
At a practical level, Housty said that the appointment should recognise those professional attributes to which the practitioner has accomplished and also the respect the practitioner gets from the public.