| …House approves law to allow recording of proceedings With six short clauses being approved by the National Assembly on Monday last to be put into law,Patrick Kane Jersey, Guyana’s judicial system has leaped by decades out of the past and into the future now that it will be able to record court proceedings with the most technologically advanced recording equipment.Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs,Anil NandlallThe Bill was piloted in the National Assembly on Monday by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and found the resounding support by both,Ryan Suter Jersey, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC).In presenting the Bill to the House for a debate,Tyler Seguin Jersey, Nandlall recorded that for a very long time there have been lamentations expressed about the delay which afflicts the system and consequential injustice which flows both in the administration of criminal justice, as well as the civil aspect of the justice system.He noted that as a Government,Pierre Pilote Jersey, in recent times in particular,Nino Niederreiter Jersey, they have been providing more and more resources to the judiciary,Jake Allen Jersey, as well as embarked on a number of initiatives jointly with the judiciary to address systematic problems “so ingrained in justice system.”Speaking to the current amendment now awaiting assent by the President, Nandlall noted that as much as 25 years ago when he was in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago participating in a case with former Attorney General, the late Doodnauth Singh, he observed that they had such a system in place and that indicates how long overdue it is in Guyana.Speaking to how modern the equipment is, Nandlall said that when it was being sourced the contractor sought to procure the exact equipment being used currently in the Court in New York.According to Nandlall, the contractor was told by the manufacturer to wait for two months as they were developing an upgraded version of the device and as such what Guyana has is the updated version.He did point out that because technology has not reached the point where it can clearly identify different dialects and reproduce them accurately there will still be a human element in the system in order to produce the verbatim records.These records he said will be the official records of the court.The project will first be launched in its pilot phase at three courts where they will seek to identify and overcome any teething problems,Jori Lehtera Jersey, before they are expanded to the other courts including the magistracy.The three courts initially identified are the Chief Justice’s Chambers, the Court of Appeal and the Commercial Court.He noted that these three courts were selected, given that at the inception of the project these were the only courts fully air conditioned.Nandlall did point out that there will be a cost attached to the use of the recording device but said it will not be a profit making venture but rather a cost recovery component in getting the verbatim records typed.Newly elected Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, APNU’s Basil Williams, welcomed the proposal, but did have a few queries and suggestions.He immediately questioned what role the notes of lawyers would take if it is in conflict with that which is produced using the recordings.Nandlall in wrapping up the debate said that the recordings would be used to provide the official court records that would preside over the lawyer’s notes.Williams also suggested that the pilot programme should have been done in the assizes.“We still have judges in capital offences, writing when a person is giving evidence when the judge supposed to be observing the demeanor of witness….the recorder would be more apposite here.”He said that there should be an urgent effort to divert the recorders from the Commercial or Constitutional Court and to put them in assizes “so we can have an idea of how it works in jury trials.”Williams did welcome the move saying that it will certainly speed up trials.Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, who is herself a trained attorney at law, also made a presentation to the debate and said that while there are just six clauses in the Bill, it will allow for much change in the way justice is administered.“We have heard so many times of appeals being delayed, heard of judgments being delayed because of records being slow in coming.”She lauded the move saying that it will bring the kind of efficiency and speed that a 2014 Guyana deserves.APNU’s James Bond,Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Team North America Jersey, in his presentation to the debate said that even though it was a small step it was in the right direction.AFC Vice Chairman,Jaromir Jagr Jersey, Moses Nagamootoo also welcomed the Bill, which he said was long in the making. |
