The Private Sector Commission (PSC) is calling on the President and Leader of the Opposition to take whatever steps necessary to appoint a Chief Justice and a Chancellor of the Judiciary.
In a statement on Friday, the body said: “An independent judiciary is important for a thriving democracy, and all actions that may impair the independence of the Judiciary should be avoided at all cost.”
It called on the two sides to again confer in good faith and agree on the persons to be appointed substantively to the positions as required by the Constitution without further delay in the national interest.
The PSC expressed concern that the President and Leader of the Opposition were unable to come to an agreement on the appointments after a lengthy process.
President Granger and Mr Jagdeo initially met on January 3, 2018, to discuss the substantive appointment of the Chancellor and Chief Justice.
At that meeting, Jagdeo indicated he needed some time to do the due diligence of the nominees and the parties were scheduled to meet again on February 7, 2018, but the Opposition Leader did not show up and instead issued a statement announcing his rejection of the nominees.
In a statement to the media, Jagdeo’s office explained that they did not receive confirmation that the meeting was still on – as is usually the practice, but the Ministry of the Presidency released photos in which the Head of State was flanked by Attorney General Basil Williams and State Minister Joseph Harmon seated at a table opposite empty chairs where the opposition delegation was expected to be seated.
