Oct 25, 2025
Letters

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Dear Editor:

The current impasse in the judiciary is not a mere “quandary” or an administrative oversight; it is a brazen subversion of established protocols. Mr. Singh’s refusal to vacate the office of the Acting Chief Justice is a profound ethical breach for a member of the judiciary. What Mr. Singh has done is an affront to the very rule of law he is sworn to uphold.  To her credit and quite a reflection of her high ethics, Madam Roxane George-Wiltshire has vacated the Office of Chancellor upon the return to the position of that long standing office holder.

The principle is, and has always been, unequivocally clear: when a senior judicial officer returns from leave, all temporary appointments revert. This is not a matter of custom; it is the bedrock of stability and predictability within the judiciary. The fact that Mr. Singh remains in the Chief Justice’s chambers while the rightfully restored Acting Chief Justice, Roxane George SC, is displaced to a conference room is a shocking visual representation of the law being trampled by raw and naked political power.

There can be no legitimate justification for this breach. The arguments being whispered in legal circles are as flimsy as they are disingenuous.

1. The suggestion that the acting Chancellor’s instrument for Justice Cummings was “revoked” to facilitate Justice George’s appointment is a legal fantasy designed to create confusion where none exists. The President’s power to make acting appointments is precisely for such contingencies. The return of the principal officer automatically terminates the acting appointment. To argue otherwise is to advocate for a perpetual and chaotic power grab, where no acting appointment is ever safe.
2. This action reeks of a petty political grudge. It is an open secret that the government was displeased with Justice Cummings’ rulings during the 2020 election impasse. So what?  The Caribbean Court of Justice has previously overturned these elections ruling made by Justice Cummings, which has led to significant public scrutiny and thus justice was served. By blocking her confirmation and now orchestrating this crisis upon her return to her original role, the administration has exposed itself for engaging in a transparent campaign to punish the judiciary and tighten its control over the supposedly independent establishment.
3. Mr. Singh’s continued occupation of the post now exhibits a serious level of immaturity, is in defiance of protocol.  The conclusion all are now arriving at, confirms past fears that his appointment was based on considerations other than seniority and experience, raising concerns about his capacity to command authority in such a complex role.

The consequences of this standoff are catastrophic as the entire Caribbean watches on. It creates a “major crisis” of leadership, as legal sources rightly fear. How can the judiciary function when it is unclear who holds ultimate authority? How can the public have confidence in a system where the rules are arbitrarily suspended to serve the executive’s whims, when they have no role in the control of the judiciary?

This nation must demand that Mr. Navindra Singh immediately vacate the office of the Chief Justice and revert to his original post.

I further call upon President Irfaan Ali and Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC, to end their silence. Their muteness in the face of this crisis is a deafening endorsement of this lawlessness. The “separation of powers” is not a shield for the executive to hide behind while it manipulates the judiciary.

This is not a negotiation. It is a simple matter of adhering to judicial ethics. The protocol is clear. The path is clear. Mr. Singh must go back to his original position until Madam Yonnette Cummings-Edwards decides to retire. To do otherwise is to confirm that in Guyana, the rule of law is subordinate to the rule of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).  The disrespect shown to the honourable Madam Roxane George-Wiltshire through this displacement is a shameful episode for our judiciary.​

Vishnu Prashad

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