US State Department gives Guyana a clean bill of health

–where judiciary independence is concerned

THE Laws of Guyana provide for an independent judiciary, and the Government of Guyana has generally respected the independence and practices of the judiciary. This is according to the US State Department Report for 2013.

However the report did not hesitate to point out that the judicial process has been undermined by delays and inefficiencies. It pointed to the report by the director of public prosecutions that 60 cases were disposed of during 2012, 14 of which the prosecutors declined to prosecute because most had been pending for in excess of 15 years, and main witnesses to prove the offences were no longer available to testify.

A shortage of trained court personnel, inadequate resources, postponements at the request of the defence or prosecution, occasional allegations of bribery, poor tracking of cases, and sloth of the Guyana Police Force in preparing cases for trial had caused delays in the system, the report also pointed out.

With respect to trial procedures, the report reminded that in Guyana trials are done publicly, while defendants enjoy the presumption that they are innocent during the trials. There is no jury for cases tried in the Magistrates’ Courts, but in the High Court, where matters are considered more serious, a jury is used.

Guyana’s constitution, the report reminded, provides that a person shall be informed — as soon as is reasonably practicable and in detail — of the nature of the offence for which that person has been charged.

There is also provision in the constitution for persons charged with criminal offences to be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence. These are all practices which, the report pointed, Guyana has been living up to.

The State Department report also pointed out that in accordance with the constitution, Guyana routinely granted trial postponements to both the defence and the prosecution — the law extends these rights to all citizens.

The law recognises the right to legal counsel; however, it was limited to those who could afford to pay, except in cases involving capital crimes. Although there is no public defender system, a defendant in a murder case that reaches the High Court receives a court-appointed attorney.

The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, with government and private support, provided advice to persons who could not afford a lawyer, particularly victims of domestic violence and violence against women, the report said.

(By Leroy Smith)