Gov’t concludes preparation of Consolidated Index of Guyana’s Laws

The Government of Guyana through the Attorney General Chambers and the Ministry of Legal Affairs has concluded the Consolidated Index of the Laws of Guyana, including subsidiary legislation up January 31, 2021. This is part of a law revision exercise currently being conducted, in which the government is reviewing the Laws of Guyana.

The project was completed in collaboration with IMPACT Justice Project of the University of West Indies (UWI) and is funded by the Canadian Government.

The Attorney General’s Chambers received the first shipment of copies of the Consolidated Index 2021, shipped from Barbados, on January 25, 2022. The Consolidated Index 2021 was compiled, printed, and published by the Faculty of the Law Library of UWI, Cave Hill. 

During a handing over of the index to the National Assembly on Monday, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall said that law revision is the insertion into the laws of Guyana of all the amendments made since the last revision. The last revision exercise was concluded in 2012.

“From 2012, we are now inserting into the laws of Guyana all of the amendments that have been made and we are also inserting all of our new laws that we have passed. This is essential in ensuring that we have consolidated, modern-dated volumes of the law of Guyana easily accessible to state agencies, the government, parliament, stakeholders as well as the people of Guyana, so that people can have access to a modern version of our laws,” the Attorney General relayed.

He said by the end of 2022, the complete revision will be concluded. The revision will capture all the new laws that will be passed in 2022, and the legal affairs minister linked that to the massive legislative agenda set for this year.

The attorney general said the Government of Guyana is aware that Guyana’s new developmental trajectory has triggered a need for heightened awareness of, and access to relevant laws across all sectors, and he expressed confidence that the Consolidated Index 2021 will go a far way in allowing stakeholders to inform themselves and, indeed, the public of these laws.  

Copies of these laws have already been shared with the library of the National Assembly, the Hon. Madame Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards OR , CCH, Chancellor (ag) of the Judiciary; Hon. Madame Justice Roxane George SC, Chief Justice (ag) ; and the Department of Public Prosecutions, among other critical stakeholders.