Ethnic Relations Tribunal bill fast-tracked
Editorial
When the National Assembly meets today it will have before it legislation for amending the constitution to establish a three-man Ethnic Relations Commission Tribunal. Also to be laid at today's sitting are an amendment to the constitution relating to the powers of the presidency and a bill postponing local government elections which are supped to be held three months after a general election. These elections have not been held since 1994. All the bills save the one postponing local government elections have the prior agreement of the parliamentary parties and were drafted in accordance with the recommendations of the Constitution Reform Commission. The proposed legislation establishing a three-man Ethnic Relations Commission Tribunal will be taken through all its stages in the National Assembly today. The tribunal will hear appeals from rulings of the Ethnic Relations Commission. It will be headed by a judge or a person qualified to be appointed as a judge who will be appointed by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The other two members will also be appointed by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission from among persons qualified by virtue of their experience of, and demonstrated capacity in, matters relating to race relations and ethnicity. The tribunal will have as its chief executive officer a Registrar who is to be appointed by the Public Service Commission. The appointment of the members of the Tribunal is required to be published in the Official Gazette and their appointment shall be for three years. The bill also provides that membership of the Ethnic Relations Commission or Human Rights Commission will disqualify a person for appointment to the Tribunal. Appeals from decisions of the Ethnic Relations Commission can be made to the tribunal by any person who is affected by it. The aggrieved person(s) must lodge the appeal within thirty days of the date the Commission's decision being communicated to him or from the date he otherwise came to hear of the decision. The time will be computed from the earlier of the two dates. While it will be headquartered in Georgetown, the bill provides for the tribunal to sit in any part of the country it thinks fit. The bill also provides for the tribunal to receive evidence either by affidavit or otherwise, and if it thinks it necessary to allow the appellant to produce fresh evidence. The tribunal has powers of the High Court to summon persons to appear before it and anyone so summoned is bound to comply as though having been subpoenaed by the High Court. It is also empowered to direct the Ethnic Relations Commission to produce the records of proceedings in relation to the decision which is being appealed. The decision of the Tribunal is to be delivered in writing giving the reasons for it and signed by each member. Where a member dissents he can record his dissent and have it annexed to the majority decision. Appeals from the decision of the Tribunal can be made to the Court of Appeal, including an appeal on a point of law. Another bill which is yet to find its way to the Order Paper is one which will amend the Representation of the People Act to make an offence the publication of any statement or any action which results or can result in racial or ethnic violence or hatred among the people. Summary conviction for such an offence, it is proposed. will carry a fine of $100,000, two years imprisonment as well as disqualification from seeking membership of the National Assembly or any local democratic organ. Where it is proved after a hearing that the statement was made on behalf of a political party, that party, it is being proposed, will be fined $500000 and prohibited from contesting parliamentary or local democratic elections for five years. The motion on today's Order Paper was tabled on November 23 and seeks approval for the groups of civil society organisations which will nominate through a consensual mechanism the persons to sit on the Ethnic Relations Commission. The amendment to the constitution being tabled for discussion at a later date provides for a number of changes to the qualification to stand for election as president and the powers of the presidency. One of the changes will remove the power of the President to dissolve parliament where two-thirds of its members resolve that he/she has been guilty of a violation of the constitution. Also removed is his power to dissolve the parliament in circumstances where he withholds assent to a bill. The new provision will require him to give his assent within ninety days to a bill which is presented to him for the second time. Another important change is that which requires a person seeking to stand for election as President to be a Guyanese by birth or parentage, in addition to being a Guyanese citizen who has been residing in Guyana continuously for a period of seven years immediately prior to the date of the election. A further proviso states that a person who is not eligible to be elected President shall not be eligible for appointment as Prime Minister. Another change is the introduction of term limits by which a person elected as president is prohibited from serving more than two terms. The amendment will also limit the President from appointing more than four ministers and two parliamentary secretaries from persons who are not elected members of parliament.
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