Guyana prepares for Hague Convention

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 24, 2019

In just over a month, Guyana will begin the implementation of at least one of the Hague Conventions, as it becomes streamlined.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, SC., today met with the Consular General of the United States Embassy, Jerome Epping and Deputy High Commissioner of the British High Commission, Ray Davidson at his office. They discussed the Adoption Convention and the procedure that will follow.

According to the Attorney General, both countries have their own procedures as they have also been more established in dealing with the international Adoption of the Hague. He said the discussion has guided the government tremendously.

Guyana initiated steps to sign on the Hague Convention several years ago when the government took office. The country has now received the ratification for the Conventions.

“It is a question now of implementing them in Guyana when they become effective, which will be within a month’s time,” the AG told the media. 

While the Adoption Convention will be implemented by June 1, the others will follow within the one month, the Attorney General explained.

Deputy High Commissioner, Ray Davidson said the United Kingdom considers the move by Guyana as a “great step forward”. He said the meeting was productive. “We are very much looking forward to working together with Guyana to help in child abduction and child adoption cases and Apostilles.”

Consular General of the United States Embassy, Jerome Epping said “we congratulated Guyana as well on the ascension to the Adoption Convention as well as the Conventions on the rights of children [abduction and child support] and the existing Apostille Convention. We look forward to continuing working with Guyana to work out the details to implement this.”

The Attorney General said his office would be meeting with the officials again to discuss other Conventions including Custody and Maintenance and Abduction.

“It is going to be a work in progress.”

He noted that the government would also have to engage the judiciary. Both the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George are judges of the Hague network and most orders will have to be before the courts, the AG said.

Alexis Rodney.

Images: Ameer Sattaur.

Editor’s Note: Apostilles – A legal certification that makes a document from one country valid in another (provided both are signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents)