Attorney General welcomes historic appoinment of Court of Appeal judges

For the first time in Guyana’s history, seven new judges have been recommended to be appointed to the Court of Appeal and five of them will be sworn in on Wednesday.

This is the first time that so many judges will be appointed to the Court of Appeal.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC, in an invited comment, welcomed the new appointments and extended his “sincere congratulations.”

“It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal Act was amended (in April 2023), increasing the complement of judges from five to nine. After the amendment, the Judicial Service Commission recommended to the president the appointments of Justices Navindra Singh, Priya Sewnarine Beharry, Damone Younge, Dr Rafiq Khan, SC and Dr Joycelin Kyte-Thomas.

“Recently, (on April 28, 2025), the National Assembly passed another amendment that inceases the complement of Court of Appeal judges from nine to 11.  Following that amendment, the Judicial Service Commission made two further recommendations to the President – Naresh Harnanan and Jo-Ann Barlow,” the Attorney General noted.

On Wednesday, five of the judges will be sworn in, the Supreme Court stated, noting that Dr Khan and Younge will be sworn in at a later date.

“…our government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to supporting the judiciary by resourcing it, providing the necessary legislative framework, and enabling it, in every way, to efficiently perform its constitutional functions,” Mr Nandlall said in piloting the last amendment.

He had pointed out that the Court of Appeal had suffered from a small complement of judges for decades, most times operating with between two and five judges. The Court currenty has three judges.

“Litigation has increased manifold over the decades. The judiciary has long suffered from a backlog of cases, which has become a matter of national concern,” Nandlall stated.