Guyana’s laws being reviewed, consolidated
The Government of Guyana has begun the process of consolidating and revising all the country’s laws, in keeping with its promise of overhauling and modernising the legislative landscape.
A press release from the Attorney General’s Chambers on Saturday, states that the exercise is a collaboration between the ‘Law Revision Commission’ unit of the AG’s Chambers, the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Improved access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project and will be executed by the Regional Revision Centre Inc., an Anguillan company.
“Honourable Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC, MP, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, is of the view that this consolidation and revision process, taken together with several other transformative initiatives currently underway, will deliver on a manifesto promise to modernise legislative landscape,” the release states.
The last such exercise was done in 2012 and according to the release, “That process took place nearly 12 years ago, and a plethora of new laws have been promulgated since.”
Therefore, incorporating them into legislation, and consolidating them have become necessary, the release added as the “time is ripe for a “new volume of the Laws of Guyana which is current, comprehensive, and accurate.”
Importantly, the process will also rectify ‘several deficiencies’ which ‘afflicted’ the last revision exercise, the release stated further.
To help facilitate the process, electronic and printed copies of the last revised Laws of Guyana (2012), a copy of the Consolidated Index of the Laws of Guyana for the revision periods 2009, 2010 and 2021, and the Gazette publications of the Laws of Guyana for the revision period December 31,2010 to December 31,2021 will be supplied to the Regional Law Revision Centre.
“Access to justice requires access by the people of Guyana to the laws which affect their daily lives. As such, in keeping with current policy, the 2022 Revised Edition of the Laws of Guyana will be made available on the website of the Attorney General’s Chambers, and physical copies will be made available to key stakeholders,” the release states.
The exercise commenced on February 21,2022 and is expected to conclude on February 20,2023.