Consultations on High Court Rules reform near end
Guyana Chronicle
July 16, 2004
CONSULTATIONS for the purpose of reforming the more that 50 years old High Court Rules of Procedure are nearing end.
Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice of Appeal Desiree Bernard made the announcement in the appellate Court Wednesday, to welcome remarks from leaders of the Bar, including Attorney General (AG) Doodnauth Singh and other Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Edward Lukchoo.
Justice Bernard said 300-plus pages of documentation, currently being distributed to the stakeholders, would, eventually, amend what has been in existence since 1955 when some filing fees were quoted in cents.
Among the significant changes would be increased charges for various aspects of litigation.
The overall exercise, with funding from the United States-based Carter Center, began in 2002 when retired Chancellor Kenneth George was mandated to do a review.
He concluded his task in October that same year and sent his recommendations to the Rules Committee, comprising, among others, Chancellor Bernard, Chief Justice Carl Singh, Supreme Court Registrar Sita Ramlal and representatives of the Bar Associations.
The Committee, having looked at what was proposed, forwarded the proposals to members of the legal profession whose opinions were subsequently solicited.
After a re-examination of it, the Committee revised the document that is now available for comments from lawyers, their associations and the Judiciary, before the reviewing body takes a final look and sends it to the AG, who must have it approved by Parliament.