Prolonged absence of land court judge is appalling and unacceptable – Harmon

By Kiana Wilburg
Unresolved cases of land disputes have been sitting on the shelves of the judiciary for nearly a year. The absence of a

Joseph Harmon, Attorney at law

judge at the Land Court in the Demerara district for nearly a year is primarily responsible for this. And while the adverse effects have been spoken about at length by several litigants, the Guyana Bar Association and even prominent lawyers, the matter is yet to be properly addressed. According to several lawyers, this has been further complicated by the “unprincipled behaviour” of the land registrar.
Just recently, a letter writer, S. Mohamed, wrote this newspaper expressing concern for the need for a judge at the Land Court. The worried citizen said that based on his latest feedback, the court has not been functioning since last year when incumbent Commissioner of Titles Rabindra Rooplall retired.
Mohamed said that many, including him, have been waiting for more than a year to have their matters heard. He remains troubled as to why there has been no update on when this key Court would resume sittings. He posited that one is left to conclude that the matters of the Land Court do not subscribe to the importance of the judicial system.
“Isn’t the Land Court a source of revenue for the people of Guyana more than any other aspect of the Judiciary? Why is it treated with the least importance and regard? Many private people are now on the hook with regards to sale of properties including transfers of ownership. This obviously will lead to a multitude of other problems other than loss of revenues and opportunities,” Mohamed noted in his letter.
The Guyana Bar Association had expressed alarm over the absence of a Judge at the Demerara Land Court and the backlog of cases. The Association said that while Rooplall functioned effectively as a judicial officer, it is unfortunate that arrangements could not be made to possibly have him remain in office until a replacement could be found.
Several lawyers who spoke with this publication lamented that the nonfunctioning Court is affecting some aspects of their practice. One such attorney was Joseph Harmon of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
Harmon said that he strongly supports the calls by citizens to have this “serious matter” be in the spotlight once more.
The lawyer said that it is appalling that it is close to a year and there is no Land Court judge. As for the land matters that have been left languishing for over a year, the attorney added that the situation is an unacceptable one and by now, a Land Court judge should have been appointed or at least another judge should have been assigned to it to deal with such matters until one can be officially appointed to fill the position.
“It is too important an issue in the life of the Guyanese citizens; particularly those who have land matters which need to be settled. This is of major concern not only to me but to other lawyers and it is something that needs to be dealt with,” the lawyer contended.
In conjunction with that matter, Harmon cited the “unscrupulous” behaviour of the land registrar, Miss Juliet Sattaur whom he said is an “irritant” to the judicial system.
He said, “Miss Sattaur arbitrarily deals with matters as she sees fit. She deals with it outside of the law. I and other lawyers have written about the manner in which she deals with certain cases, and it seems that the administration is incapable of handling this matter or it is complicit in their attempt to frustrate people in the acquisition of land titles. So you have the issue of the land court not functioning and Sattaur, the land registrar that is basically a pinprick to the system.”
Harmon said that he had written the Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall and President Donald Ramotar about Miss Sattaur and her behaviour but nothing seems to have been done. He believes that it may be for several reasons. He concluded that she is “being protected by Freedom House while she sits there and gives the bulk of the legal profession a hard time.”
The Attorney at law said that the current state of affairs at the Land Court is having a number of adverse effects,  two of which he noted, are that citizens eventually lose confidence in the attorney and in the justice system.
He said too that when policy makers speak about eliminating those factors that pose challenges to conducting business in Guyana effectively, such levels of frustrations with the non functioning court and a land registrar “who believes she is judge, lawyer , and jury” needs  to be addressed.
Nandlall, after being apprised with Harmon’s comments said that it is a fact, unfortunately, that there has been no one performing the function of Commissioner of Title/Land Court Judge for the County of Demerara. He noted that the last person to have held that position retired several months ago. However, Nandlall said that the tenure of the Judicial Service Commission came to an end and there was a delay in reconstituting that Commission.
The Minister of Legal Affairs explained that it is this body from which appointments to the position of Commissioner of Title and Land Court Judge emanate. The persons to sit on this Commission he said, comes from a Parliamentary process as well as a consultative engagement between the Leader of the Opposition and the President.
“The truth is that there was delay in relation to both processes despite my and the government’s best efforts to expedite same,” the AG admitted.
He reminded that on September 11, the Judicial Service Commission members were sworn in at the Office of the President. The Minister said that he is hoping that this Commission will view such appointments as a priority.
As regards the Land Registry, Nandlall said that he agrees that there are serious problems affecting the efficient functioning of the Land Registry.
He said, “The Land Registry falls under the supervision of the Office of the President and I have appraised the Office of the President of these problems.
“I am aware that there are several initiatives which are being pursued which are designed to bring greater efficiency to that beleaguered institution. The letter which I received from Mr. Harmon was transmitted to the Office of the President and Mr. Harmon was so duly informed,” the AG concluded.