A list of six former judges
Jan 29, 2017 , http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....f-six-former-judges/
We now have it from the horse’s mouth. The President has been quoted by the Guyana Chronicle as saying that he will appoint someone who is fit to be a judge as Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission.
Fit and proper in this sense has been interpreted to mean either a judge, qualified to be a judge or having judge-like qualities. The judge-like qualities are listed as intelligence, impartiality and integrity.
It must NOT be assumed, however, that because the President has rejected the six names submitted by the Leader of the Opposition, he did not find any of them satisfying the above mentioned criteria. It could merely be that the President, in accordance with the Constitution, did not find agreement with any of the persons. Ultimately, the person chosen must be agreeable to the President.
The initial confusion emerged after one interpretation of what the President had said at a media brunch. The President’s comments were interpreted, whether rightly or wrongly, to mean that the person to be selected must be a judge. A huge debate ensued about this matter and it even turned to the position of the person must have judge-like qualities. In order words, fit and proper, means fit and proper to be a judge.
Not everyone agrees with this interpretation. This very interpretation was demolished by reference to the Rules of Interpretation used by our Courts, and by reference to supporting legal authorities.
The Court is the best place to go to have this matter resolved. But not everyone wants to see the Court interpret this matter. Somebody will win and somebody will lose, and those who stand to lose may not be inclined to want the matter to reach the Court.
They may also not be too interested in the Court’s interpretation if their objective is to have someone favourable to them appointed.
The bottom line is it does not seem as if anyone will approach the Courts for an interpretation of Article 161 of the Constitution. And so, since the President may only appoint someone who is fit to be a judge, then the challenge of the Leader of the Opposition, outside of obtaining a legal interpretation of this matter, would be to test the President on this matter by submitting a list of six judges and see whether he will select any of them.
The following is a list of six persons who have served as judges in Guyana and who are therefore qualified under Article 161 of the Constitution to be appointed.
1. Justice Claudette Singh,
2. Justice Charles Ramson,
3. Justice Ian Chang,
4. Justice Carl Singh (soon to retire),
5. Justice Cecil Kennard,
6. Justice Miles Fitzpatrick (former temporary Court of Appeal Judge)
It would be interesting to know if the President received such a list whether he would agree to any of the above mentioned persons
The Chairperson of GECOM should not have to be a judge or fit to be a judge. It is the Commission as a collective, that determines which party has garnered the most votes in the elections, and therefore, who will be the President-elect.
The Guyana Elections Commission has been running free and fair elections for 25 years. It has no need for any judge to sit as a Chairperson. There are hardly any contentious constitutional or legal hurdles which require such a person to break the deadlock. The local courts can be approached on any question of law about which the Commission is divided.
What the Guyana Elections Commission needs more than anything else is an effective manager to help guide the conduct of the elections. This is what is needed more than judge-like qualities.
But since there is an insistence on a judge or someone fit to be a judge, then perhaps a solution would be to have someone chosen from the above list. Perhaps the media may wish to ask the President whether he will agree to any of the above names if they are ever presented to him.
