Nandlall slams ‘incompetent’ CCJ appeal in Crystal Fisher case; says move risks millions in costs for litigant

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has criticised the decision to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in the Crystal Fisher v. Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) case, describing the litigation as “a total abuse of the process of the court” and warning that it could saddle the litigant with millions more in legal costs.

Nandlall made the remarks during his weekly Issues in the News programme on Tuesday night, following the Court of Appeal’s October 10 dismissal of the Forward Guyana Movement’s (FGM) challenge to GECOM’s decision to exclude the party from the ballot in Regions Seven, Eight, and Nine during the September 1, 2025, elections.

The appeal, filed by Crystal Fisher on behalf of FGM, was unanimously rejected by the Appeal Court. Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Roxane George, in delivering the judgment, held that the case had no merit and reiterated that GECOM acted lawfully in excluding parties that failed to submit candidate lists in specific constituencies. She emphasised that the appeal was not properly before the court, as it did not arise from an election petition, and reaffirmed the Chief Justice’s earlier ruling.

“This is not an appeal from an election petition and, as such, the court would have no jurisdiction to entertain it,” the Chancellor said, ordering that the costs of the appeal be paid on or before November 14, 2025.

The Chief Justice (ag.), Navindra Singh, had earlier ruled that GECOM’s decision was consistent with constitutional principles, which ensure that ballot access reflects parties contesting within specific constituencies.

Following the Court of Appeal’s decision, Nandlall said that the judges’ language was “scathing” and that the matter should never have been pursued further.

“A total of four judges have described the case as an abuse of the court’s process and completely baseless,” he said. “These are not ordinary judicial descriptions.”

Despite that, Nandlall noted that those behind the case have moved to appeal to the CCJ—an action he described as both reckless and poorly executed.

“The document for the appeal was incompetently filed,” Nandlall revealed. “If you can’t get the appeal documents right, I don’t know how you will argue the case when it eventually comes up.”

He expressed sympathy for Fisher, describing her as “an unsuspecting citizen” from Region Nine and “a member of our Indigenous community,” who now faces significant financial exposure.

“This poor woman has already been ordered to pay $4 million in costs,” he said. “If the case goes to the CCJ, those costs will run into millions more, and it would appear that she is the one who will eventually have to bear them.”

Nandlall further stated that he will ask that the attorney who filed the appeal contribute to those costs, given the apparent mishandling of the matter.

Criticising the publicity surrounding the filing, he added, “In their hurry to seek attention, they rushed to the press to say they have filed an appeal. But the documents are defective. That’s what we’re dealing with here—an abuse of the process of the court.”

The Attorney General reiterated that the CCJ should dismiss or shelve the appeal outright, saying the matter is without merit and continuing it would only deepen the financial burden on the litigant.