Access to justice is most important of all legal rights – AG Nandlall

The government has been focused on ensuring that every citizen, regardless of where they live, has swift access to the institutions of justice in Guyana.

Speaking at yesterday’s commissioning ceremony of a brand-new, state-of-the-art Magistrate’s court at Anna Regina in Region Two, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall said that access to justice is the sum total of all legal rights.

The court, completed by Satar Mohammed and Sons Construction and Hardware supplies at the cost of $178.2 million, will have a significant impact on delivering justice in a timely and efficient manner in the region.

“Access to justice is as important as any other right or any other entitlement of the human being. Without justice, without law, without order, nothing is possible”, AG Nandlall said.

Citizens, who previously had to travel over 19 miles simply to address issues in court, can now go less than 10 miles from home to have their concerns brought before the judicial system.

The Attorney General stated that without adequate infrastructure, Guyana cannot harvest its potential or reap the full benefits of its resources.

Minister Nandlall said that being partners with the judiciary recognises and ensures the importance of having necessary physical infrastructure to expand and ensure that there is equal access to justice nationwide.

“I must emphasise that the courthouses that are being built across the country, even in the interior regions, are equipped with all the modern amenities and technological apparatus that are present in courthouses in the urban centres of our country,” the Attorney General said.

Meanwhile, Mayor of the Town of Anna Regina, Devin Mohan, said that the court is the “realisation of our collective vision for a town and a region where access to justice is not a privilege but a right guaranteed to every citizen.”

With the addition of this new court, Essequibo will have the support of stronger institutions, which in turn will help create safer communities.

The region will have two residential judges to deal with the region’s mounting caseloads.

The majority of cases will be dealt with in the county, while the Suddie High Court will now be able to increase sittings from two to four days a week.

The new Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court comes equipped with modern facilities, which include a fully equipped courtroom, Magistrate’s chambers, residential quarters, a clerk’s office and briefing rooms for prosecutors and defence counsels.

The investments made in Guyana’s judicial system extend far beyond building new courthouses and making legal appointments. It extends to the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, including digitalisation of case management systems and remote hearings.

This Magistrate’s court joins a lengthy list of Court houses commissioned since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) began their administration in 2020.

The Anna Regina Magistrate Court now stands proudly as an emblem of the government’s commitment to the prosperity of Guyana.

Attendees at the commissioning ceremony included the Chancellor of the Judiciary (AG) Justice Yonette Cummings Edwards, Chief Justice (AG) Roxane George, Regional Chairman for Region Two Vilma DaSilva, and Presiding Magistrate Tamieka Clarke, who will serve the new court, as well as lawyers and other stakeholders.