The justice system in Guyana is expected to drastically improve with the introduction of sentencing guidelines expected to come on stream by mid-2022.
Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, M.P., shared the news during an interview on Jan. 15.
“The Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General’s Chambers are spearheading a project which includes the hiring of a consultant for the drafting of sentencing guidelines,” the minister said. “In fact, there is a public advertisement currently out, in accordance with IADB stipulations, because they are the funding agency, seeking to enlist the services of a consultant to undertake the project which is to draft sentencing guidelines. Many countries in the Caribbean have sentencing guidelines and in the United Kingdom there are sentencing guidelines.”
The minister noted that these sentencing guidelines will assist in bringing regularity, consistency and predictability to sentencing because these three factors are important in sentencing and tribunals must apply the law and sentencing, uniformly and consistently.
He noted that members of the public are also entitled to, with reasonable prediction, be able to say what the sentence is going to be for specified offenses, especially when there are similar facts repeating themselves.
Recently, concerns were raised by residents of Region Nine where they voiced their dissatisfaction via social media and other means over the administration of justice at the Lethem Magistrate’s Court.