Guyana sets regional record with 25 Bills passed in Parliament this year

A total of 25 new pieces of legislation were passed by the National Assembly in Guyana for 2022, setting a new regional record for the most Bills to be passed in one year.

This is according to Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who said that it was a trend to be continued in 2023 as Guyana continues the upgrading of several pieces of archaic legislation and the introduction of new ones to support the changing business environment.

“That is the most legislation passed by any Parliament in the Caribbean. That is an average of two pieces of legislation per month. That is a record by any standard,” the AG noted in his most recent edition of ‘Issues in the News’ on Tuesday evening.

The new laws include the Hire Purchase Act, the Condominium Act, the amended Representation of the People’s Act, the Suicide Prevention Act, the Mental Health Promotion Act and several others.

In addition, the Attorney General Chambers completed the long-awaited law revision process, allowing for updating of existing laws. Law revision was last conducted in 2012.

“The revision of the laws of Guyana…the exercise whereby you get all the different pieces of amendments and you insert them into the principal acts that [have been] amended, so when you read that principal act, the amendments are incorporated and it reads smoothly,” he explained.

The legal affairs minister explained that the law revision process was a priority area for the Irfaan Ali-led Administration.

“Law revision is a very important exercise because it keeps the country’s laws updated. Secondly, it keeps them consolidated, and thirdly, it makes them accessible and easy to consult. So, it must be done at regular intervals,” he noted.

Nandlall said the government has no intention of slowing efforts towards the fulfillment of its commitment to law reform and will continue full steam ahead in the New Year.

“We don’t plan to slow down next year. In fact, we will accelerate our agenda for next year,” he added.