Court of Appeal vs Full Court Bar Association calls for temperate discussion -says High Court has duty to issue conservatory orders Stabroek News March 4, 2000 The Guyana Bar Association (GBA) has expressed the hope that temperate discussion will take place between representatives of the Court of Appeal and the High Court with a view to clarifying their respective roles. In a press release issued yesterday by its President Miles Fitzpatrick, the GBA supported the Full Court's decision on Tuesday to issue a conservatory order ex parte based on a constitutional motion before it, staying proceedings before the Court of Appeal. The Full Court proceedings were in relation to convicted Essequibo murderers Abdool Saleem Yasseen and Noel Thomas. The Full Court order has drawn strong language from Chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard and Appeal Court Judge Lennox Perry, who described it as an "eye-pass" and said it would make Guyana the "laughing stock of the Caribbean." Harsh language was also used by the Court of Appeal in relation to the two members of the Full Court, Justices Carl Singh and Desmond Burch-Smith. The Court of Appeal has said it will announce on Monday whether it will abide by the Full Court order. The GBA noted that the Constitution provided that the High Court, of which the Full Court is a part, had the original jurisdiction to hear and determine applications by persons alleging that their fundamental rights had been or were likely to be contravened. "There can be no doubt that the High Court... has the power--and duty-- to issue conservatory orders addressed to any tribunal where it considers such orders to be necessary to protect the rights of persons in Guyana," the Bar Association said. "There can also be no doubt that an appeal lies against such orders by the Full Court to the Court of Appeal, which is created by statute (there is no common law right of appeal) to review decisions of the High Court." Stating that jurisdiction should not be confused with courtesy and power with discretion, the GBA stressed that the Constitution gives original jurisdiction in such matters to the High Court and its Rules enable it to make ex parte orders. The GBA urged that the protocol of review in such delicate areas be discussed among the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Bar on the basis of a common understanding that the Constitution "governs all of us and the original responsibilities of the High Court under it are the very pith and substance of the Rule of Law." While noting that the judges of the Court of Appeal as members of Guyana's highest judicial tribunal have a duty to set an example to all Guyanese of respect for the law, it said that likewise, the judges of the High Court also have a duty in executing their functions to recognise the dignity and status of their brethren in the Court of Appeal and to treat them with courtesy. The Bar Association urged that judicial administration by press release be discontinued as it is destroying the very fabric of the justice system. It stressed that judicial language must at all times uphold the high professional standards set by common law judges in the Commonwealth.