Department of Public Information, Guyana

Tag: Guyana Bar Association

  • Gov’t to expand legal education opportunities

    Gov’t to expand legal education opportunities

    The government has expressed its intentions to collaborate with stakeholders and implement initiatives to expand education opportunities in the legal field, even amidst the nation’s ongoing massive legal reform.

    Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, highlighted the essential nature of this investment during his weekly programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday.

    Underscoring the pressing need for professional development in the legal field, Minister Nandlall stated that “We are passing too many important laws not to have continuing education.”

    It was noted that discussions to implement initiatives to promote further education will be a priority at the next meeting with the Guyana Bar Association.

    The minister conveyed confidence in a positive response from the bar association and the legal community saying “The legal profession is a noble and honourable profession, and I can’t imagine that they will reject the idea of continuing education.”

    Several countries worldwide have already made it a mandatory obligation to have continuing education in all critical professional fields including the legal and medicinal fields.

    To expedite the process of providing further education for legal professionals, the government has commenced a landmark undertaking to establish Guyana’s first Council of Legal Education (CLE) law school.

    When established, the school will see to scores of aspiring Guyanese lawyers receiving the necessary knowledge and skills to proficiently operate in the legal landscape.

    The establishment of the school and the proposal for beneficial partnerships underscores the government’s commitment to providing training to Guyanese at every level.

    These initiatives will expand Guyana’s workforce and introduce more competent local professionals in all critical fields, furthering Guyana’s development trajectory.

    As the legal landscape continues to evolve and reform, the government stays firmly aligned with raising professional standards and securing Guyana as a birthplace of proficient professional trailblazers.

  • Attorney General meets with executive members of Bar Association

    Attorney General meets with executive members of Bar Association

    On Wednesday, 18th October, 2023 the Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall SC MP, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs met with a team of Executive Members of the Guyana Bar Association. The Hon. Attorney General was accompanied by Deputy Solictor General, Ms. Deborah Kumar, Assistant Solicitor General, Ms. Shoshanna Lall and Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Officer, Mr. Rommel St. Hill.

    The Bar Association team was headed by Mr. Ronald Bruch-Smith, President of the Guyana Bar Association and included Mr. Robin Stoby SC, Mr. Teni Housty, Mr. Kamal Ramkarran and Mr. Naresh Poonai, Attorneys-at-Law.

    The Hon. Attorney General thanked the Bar Council Executives for meeting with him and also expressed his gratitude to the Association for their cooperation in engaging in numerous consultative engagements on various crucial legal issues, including, the review of Bills. He assured the Bar Council of his readiness to meet at any time mutually convenient to discuss important issues from time to time.

    The  Legal  Affairs  Minister updated the  Bar  Council on the  Government’s legislative agenda and provided a status update on important projects and programmes being pursued by the Government in the legal sector. These included a status update on the law revision exercise and the Guyana Law Reports.

    It was agreed that a Committee will be established to review:

    (1)  certain  concerns  raised  in  respect  of  the  recently  enacted  Anti-Money

    Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Act

    2023 and the Guyana Compliance Commission Act 2023;

    (2)  certain long outstanding litigation involving the Guyana Bar Association and the Attorney General; and

    (3) the Legal Practitioners Act.

  • Draft Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Bill to address current gaps in law

    Draft Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Bill to address current gaps in law

    As part of the  Government’s legislative agenda to modernize and make more efficient the criminal justice system, a draft Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Bill has been prepared by the Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs.

    The Bill seeks to repeal the Criminal Procedure (Plea Bargaining and Plea Agreement) Act, Cap 10:09 and re-enact legislation which addresses the gaps in the current law to effectively expedite criminal proceedings, protect the rights of the individual and ensure offenders are properly sentenced in accordance with law.

    The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a system of plea discussion and plea agreements in criminal proceedings. Its primary intent is to provide the opportunity for prosecutors and accused persons to meet under specific circumstances and negotiate a settlement acceptable to the principles of justice. This will inevitably save judicial time, reduce the backlog of criminal cases, reduce the prison population on remand while at the same time ensuring that accused persons face penalties proportionate to the crimes committed.

    Only recently, judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) lauded the manner in which plea bargain mechanisms have worked in other jurisdictions, contributing significantly to speed and efficiency in the administration of criminal justice.

    The Attorney General Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs in April, 2023 invited comments in writing on the draft Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Bill. Submissions were solicited from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Office of the Police Legal Advisor, the Guyana Bar Association, the Berbice Bar Association, and the Law Reform Commission.

    The Bill will be soon taken to Cabinet and thence to be laid in the National Assembly.

  • Workshop on  ‘Drafting Arbitration Clauses: Practical Workshop’

    Workshop on  ‘Drafting Arbitration Clauses: Practical Workshop’

    The Government of Guyana, in keeping with its stated commitment to create a modern platform for arbitration as an effective method of settling commercial and other disputes in Guyana, launches its program of building capacity by training and education.  In this regard, the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, in collaboration with IMPACT Justice and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Caribbean Branch, Young Members Group, will be offering a workshop on ‘Drafting Arbitration Clauses: Practical Workshop’, on the 5th and 7th April, 2022, via the Zoom platform.  This Workshop is open to young Attorneys-at-Law and other interested persons forty years and under.

    The objective of the workshop is to highlight the relevance of including arbitration clauses in contracts and to provide an introduction to the drafting of enforceable arbitration clauses.  The workshop is free and sessions will be conducted by Ms. Shan Greer, FCIArb assisted by Ms. Kimberley Williams, MCIArb. Attendees who participate would have the opportunity to receive certification.

    Notification of this workshop was sent to the Guyana Bar Association, the Berbice Bar Association and the Private Sector Commission, inviting interested persons within those organisations to participate.

    Other interested persons are hereby invited to participate.

    The Registration Form to be used by persons interested in participating can be found on the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs website– mola.gov.gy. The closing date for registration is the 31st March, 2022. 

    Registrants will be provided with the Zoom Link upon registration.

    This is but the first of many such initiatives designed to train, educate and certify persons interested in arbitration.

  • NCTF announcements following virtual meeting

    NCTF announcements following virtual meeting

    Press Release

    Georgetown, Guyana – Friday, April 17, 2020

    The National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF) yesterday held another virtual meeting and a wide range of matters were considered.

    1. The NCTF announces that the Ministry of Education will not re-open schools on Monday, April 20th as was previously planned and that all schools will remain closed until further notice. E-learning will continue.
    2. The NCTF has appointed a sub-committee to advise on social assistance. This sub-committee is chaired by Director General Joseph Harmon and includes Ministers Amna Ally, Catherine Hughes and Haimraj Rajkumar along with NCTF Secretary Imran Khan and is to also include a designated senior official from the Ministry of Finance.
    3. The NCTF received requests for specially approved flights to repatriate foreign nationals who are in Guyana and approved some of these including a request from the Canadian High Commission to repatriate Canadian nationals using WestJet. The advice and guidance of the Ministry of Public Health and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority are critical in the NCTF decision-making in this regard.
    4. The NCTF has received a formal request from the Guyana Bar Association to classify attorneys-at-law as essential workers who are required to work during the curfew hours of 6pm to 6am. This request is under consideration.

    The NCTF continues to receive information of Guyanese citizens who are in various parts of the world seeking to return to Guyana and while sympathetic to their situation, considers it a priority to ensure that all citizens in Guyana are protected from the spread of COVID-19 and reiterates that Guyana’s international airports remain closed to incoming passengers until May 3rd. An assessment is to be done, prior to May 3rd, to determine whether the airports can reopen to passenger traffic or whether it is necessary for the closure to be extended.

    The NCTF pleads with citizens to continue and intensify practising social distancing, to adhere to the curfew and stay at home order and all official COVID-19 advisories. The NCTF remains concerned about the increasing numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Guyana, now up to 57 in total, with 6 deaths and 9 recovered cases.

    -ENDS-

     

  • Guyana Bar Association consulted on the Moveable Property Security Bill

    Guyana Bar Association consulted on the Moveable Property Security Bill

    DPI, Guyana, Saturday, November 3, 2018

    Members of the Guyana Bar Association and other stakeholders were part of a workshop to explore the conceptual and functional features of the draft Moveable Property Security Bill 2018.

    The consultation, held at the Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, was facilitated by the Ministry of Business in collaboration with the Ministry of Legal Affairs.

    Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, noted the Bill provides for a comprehensive, integrated framework for secured transaction in movable property. All movable property, under this framework, qualify as property regardless of item or type with a few exceptions.

    Minister Williams noted the policies embodied in the Bill are not major changes since they have been part of Guyana’s laws and practised in one form of the security device or other.

    “The legislative framework introduces a modern, centralized electronic registry system in which authorized registrants will have direct access to the entry registry database for the purpose of entering their record of a secured transaction,” Minister Williams explained.

    President of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran
    President of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran
    IDB consultant, Professor Dr. Tom Johnson working with the government led the workshop
    IDB consultant, Professor Dr. Tom Johnson working with the government led the workshop
    Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC
    Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC

    The system will be built on a newly designed platform for company records and will operate in real time. The principles and policies underlined in the Bill mirror UNCITRAL’s (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) model law on secured transactions.

    “The proposed legal and institutional framework will provide Guyana with the Caribbean’s most modern legislation dealing with secured transaction. This legislation will enhance risk assessment management and mitigation for lenders. It will promote access to finance for a broader spectrum of borrowers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises,” Minister Williams noted.

    The Bill is also expected to facilitate infrastructure development and offshore investment in the country and prepare the way for the impending expansion of the oil and gas industry.
    President of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran, said the legal fraternity welcomed the collaborative effort to improve understanding of the Bill. “This Bill provides the availability of security on movable property,” Ramkarran noted.

    The Moveable Property Security Bill 2018 is part of the Ministry of Business’ efforts to improve the ease of doing business in Guyana. The ministry has been working with the Ministry of Legal Affairs to develop a modern, secure transaction regime to facilitate the use of moveable property, both tangible and intangible to use as collateral for business and consumer lending.

    The regime includes the development of a legislative framework and the establishment of an electronic collateral registry. The government has received support from the Inter-American Development Bank. Consultant, Professor Dr Tom Johnson, has been working with the Ministries in the drafting of the Bill. Dr. Johnson facilitated today’s workshop.

    The draft Moveable Property Security Bill 2018 can be found the Ministry of Business website (https://www.business.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Draft-MPSA-Feb-21-2018.pdf) as well as the Ministry of Legal Affairs website.

    Tiffny Rhodius

    Images: Jameel Mohamed 

  • AG Williams chides opposition MP Nandlall’s attack on Judiciary

    AG Williams chides opposition MP Nandlall’s attack on Judiciary

    – Attorney General calls for condemnation of Nandlall’s recent attack of members of the judiciary

    – “Therefore, as Head of the bar I again roundly condemn his behaviour and remain hopeful that the usual commentators and the Guyana Bar Association will see it fit to do same” – AG Williams

    DPI, Guyana, Sunday, October 21, 2018

    Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams SC, in a recent press release, chided former attorney general and PPP member of parliament, Anil Nandlall for his “reckless and churlish” attack on the Judiciary after he lost the appeal against the appointment by President David Granger of Justice retired, James Patterson as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

    Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams SC

    AG Williams says his latest attack on members of the judiciary -three of whom are women must be condemned.

    Statements attributed to Nandlall and his labelling of Chief Justice, Roxanne George-Wiltshire’s ruling as adventurous in the Court of Appeal and him describing two Barbadian Queen’s Counsel as aliens aptly sum up Nandlall’s disrespect, the attorney general posited.

    “As Attorney General, I fully support objective comments on judgements handed down by the courts, but these must be measured and respectful without seeking to scandalise the court by describing its decision as political and that the judges who made the decision as immature. This amounts to personal invective and abuse of the judges,” the AG stated.

    The attorney general noted what he describes as the serious deficiency in Nandlall’s psychological framework relating to the ruling despite the “plain and literal language” of Article 161 (2) that the appointment of the Chairman of GECOM is to be done by the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and not the Opposition Leader.

    “Therefore, as Head of the bar I again roundly condemn his behaviour and remain hopeful that the usual commentators and the Guyana Bar Association will see it fit to do same,” AG Williams added.

    Stacy Carmichael

    Image: Department of Public Information

  • First ever oil and gas law conference gets underway

    First ever oil and gas law conference gets underway

    DPI, GUYANA, Friday, March 09, 2018

    The Chancellor of the Judiciary in collaboration with the Guyana Bar Association is hosting a two-day conference on oil and gas law training development.

    The conference which seeks to explore the legal framework in oil and gas regulations is being held at the Ramada Princess Hotel, East Bank Demerara.

    Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonnette Cummings-Edwards.

    Acting Chancellor, Justice Yonnette Cummings-Edwards said the legal profession must be proactive in embracing the oil and gas industry.

    “We the bar and bench have seen that vision, we’ve seen the need to sharpen our legal skills using the powerful weapon of education,” she said at today’s opening. Justice Cummings-Edwards she was pleased that lawyers from Essequibo and Berbice were also part of the session.

    The training is being led by Alicia Elias-Roberts, the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies. Elias-Roberts is a pioneer of legal education on oil and gas law in the Caribbean region.

    “I’ll endeavour over the course of the two days to deliver training based upon my experience…to lay the foundation about lessons learnt from other hydrocarbon economies,” Elias-Roberts noted.

    Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman encouraged the bar and the bench to take into consideration the Decree made by Venezuela in May 2016 claiming Guyana’s waters and the recent decision by the United Nations Secretary-General to send the Guyana Venezuela controversy to the World Court during their deliberations.

    The bench and bar will discuss the petroleum contract, legal and regulatory framework for oil and gas and the sovereign wealth fund during the conference.

    This conference is expected to become a featured event for the legal fraternity as the country prepares to become an oil-producing nation.

    Members of the bench and bar at the opening of the conference.

    Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies Alicia Elias-Roberts.

     

    By: Tiffny Rhodius

     

    For more photos, click on the link to the DPI’s Flickr Page

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/142936155@N03/albums/72157692542466711

  • Deeds, Commercial Registry Bill up for debate on Monday

    Deeds, Commercial Registry Bill up for debate on Monday

    GINA Guyana, Thursday, May 4, 2017

    Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said that the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority Amendment Bill 2017 is scheduled for debate at the next sitting of the National Assembly on May 8.

    Minister Harmon made this announcement at his weekly post Cabinet-Press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency.

    This Bill will pave the way for the establishment of the Deeds and Commercial Registries’ authority board. Minister Harmon said that this governing body will ensure the proper and efficient performance of the functions of the Authority.

    The Board usually consists of a Chairman, Registrar of Deeds and the Commercial Registry, a nominee of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communities, the Guyana Bar Association, the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals, and the private sector.

    The Deeds and Commercial Registry is an independent body, which was established in 2013, to promote the efficient and orderly operation of the Deeds and the Commercial Registries.

     

    By: Synieka Thorne

  • Deeds and Commercial Registry Amendment Act will make way for board to be constituted – AG

    Deeds and Commercial Registry Amendment Act will make way for board to be constituted – AG

    GINA Guyana, Monday, March 27, 2017

    The Deeds and Commercial Registry Board can only be constituted after the authority’s Amendment Bill 2017 is passed in the National Assembly, according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC. The board’s life came to an end in May 2016.

    The Deeds and Commercial Registry is an independent body, which was established in 2013, to promote the efficient and orderly operation of the Deeds Registry and the Commercial Registry. It also established a Governing Board, which ensures the proper and efficient performance of the functions of the Authority.

    During a recent press conference, Minister Williams explained that the government recognised that the board needed to be broadened to include other entities including the Ministry of Business and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    The Board usually consists of a Chairman, the Registrar of Deeds and the Commercial Registry, a nominee of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communities, the Guyana Bar Association, the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals and the Private Sector.

    “The matter is in parliament, it had to be taken to Cabinet and then to Parliament. It was first read on January 30 this year. … It hasn’t come up for debate yet because there were some Bills before like the Hamilton Greene Bill which took some time,” the Attorney General explained.

    The AG noted that though he is aware that the Bill is up for debate in parliament, PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP), Anil Nandlall, went to the High Court ex-parte, and secured an Order Nisi of Mandamus for the members of the Governing Board to be appointed. The matter was heard before Justice Brassington Reynolds.

    “Nandlall is aware that the Bill is up for debate and therefore he knows that the board cannot be constituted if the Bill is not debated by second reading and passed, yet he goes to the courts ex-parte …For 23 years no judge had given any order of any Minister of the PPP/C government but, since we came into office the judges have been giving orders to ministers without giving the ministers a hearing,” Williams said.

    When someone goes ex-parte to the court, the matter is not served to the other side so they could be heard before the order is made.

    The AG explained that the person requesting the order is placed under a duty of making full and frank disclosure.  Failure to do so, the court is entitled to discharge the orders made and refuse to hear the case. However, in this case, Nandlall concealed from Justice Reynolds the fact that the matter is engaging the attention of Parliament.

    Interference

    The Attorney General said that the courts cannot interfere with the business of Parliament or tell the executive how to execute a matter within its domain because of the doctrine of the separation of powers.

    Minister Williams SC recalled that the former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh, had appointed the top two persons at the Deeds and Commercial entity.  “He purpose to do that, through an amendment made to the constitution that was an erroneous amendment, it’s an amendment which goes against the grain of the Constitution and breaches the basis of the Constitution, which is separation of powers, that no arm of the state, the Legislature, Executive or the Judiciary, should infringe on the jurisdiction of the other,” Williams said.

    Minister Williams said that it is clear interference by the Judiciary, and that such acts will be rolled back as the government will restore the rule of law in Guyana.

     

    By: Synieka Thorne