Government Confident heading to CCJ- Attorney General
–Opposition must abide by Court of Appeal ruling
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams SC. said that he is confident that the government will be victorious when the December 21 vote is taken the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for a final decision.
“As a government,t we have confirmed with the constitution, we have confirmed with the rule of law and so we are confident in going forward with the CCJ, that the ruling of the Court of Appeal would be upheld” he stated.
The AG was at the time addressing questions on the midday show ‘Hot Seat’ hosted by Stan Gouveia on 94.1 FM.
He said that last Friday’s decision by the Court of Appeal came as no surprise to the government who have argued that 34 votes were needed to make valid the December 21 vote. In fact, he pointed out that a precedent has also been set in determining a majority for a vote of no-confidence in the Caribbean.
“I have always been confident because in following the principles of stare decisis, are they going to ask the CCJ to overturn the position of the immediate past President of the CCJ and secondly, the rounding up principle was a decision of the current President of the CCJ, the Honourable Chief Justice Saunders.
AG Williams said the decision indicates that Guyana’s justice system is working and that the rule of law is alive in the country.
According to the AG is has been a practice of the opposition to criticise judges whenever they lose a case. He noted as well that they have been attempting to manufacture a crisis in the country. The AG advised that is not the way to go and said the opposition must abide by the ruling.
“They have to abide by the decision of the judges because we abided by the decision of the learned Chief Justice at first instance and you would remember that the same circles were telling us that we did not need to go past the Chief Justice’s ruling but now the same circles are looking to appeal to the CCJ,” he highlighted.
On March 25, Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram made his application to the CCJ, challenging the decision of the Appeal Court. Nevertheless, the ruling of Guyana Court of Appeal means that the government is legal to continue serving the people of Guyana as it was duly elected to do on May 11, 2015.
Isaiah Braithwaite
Image: The Department of Public Information
Editor’s Note: Stare Decisis is a Latin term meaning “to stand by that which is decided.”
It is a legal principle that obligates courts to follow historical cases when making a ruling on a similar case. Simply put, it binds courts to follow legal precedents set by previous decisions