Maritime dispute with Suriname could take years to resolve and cost Guyana millions - AG
'UG law school could be built in a year,' four new senior counsel to be created
By John Mair in London
Stabroek News
August 10, 2004
Attorney-General Doodnauth Singh opened up to a small audience in the UK last week on Guyana's legal dispute with Suriname over the offshore territory which the Canadian company CGX wants to explore for oil. He said the dispute, which Guyana took to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in late February of this year could take several years to resolve and prove very costly to the country in legal expenses alone.
The AG was addressing the Guyana Law Association in London whilst on a private visit to the UK. He recalled that he had spent his entire life cognisant of the Guyana/ Suriname border dispute when growing up in Number 78 Village on the Corentyne.
AG Singh thus came to the subject not as a naif when taking over office from Charles Ramson in 2001: "The President asked me to come and retire to the AG's office," he joked. After that, he led the Guyana delegation in the negotiations with the Surinamese. These had gone smoothly apart from the fact that he wanted to separately discuss the three areas of dispute - the New River triangle, the Corentyne river and the offshore ownership but the Surinamese would not allow that. As he pointed out, all the disputed areas "seem to be triangular in shape." He was surprised when at their last meeting the Surinamese delegation, with whom he personally had very good relations, failed to agree on the minutes even after he had delayed departure by a day to allow the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Harper, to do her best to broker a compromise.
Guyana had been left with no alternative but to seek redress from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The government's legal team-including former Attor-ney-General and Common-wealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath Ramphal - had thoroughly prepared the case even before he joined them. Some financial help had been forthcoming from CGX Inc, the Canadian concession holder who had been forcibly evicted from the disputed area by the Surinamese in June 2000.
They were still very hopeful of substantial oil finds. The AG was hopeful that the border dispute would be settled away from the costly, long-winded and tortuous chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
On more pressing legal matters in Guyana, AG Singh revealed that the pool of Senior Counsel - just 20 at the moment - might soon be topped up with "three or four" new SC's chosen from a shortlist of ten. In terms of recruitment at the bottom end of the profession, he revealed that the Cabinet was now actively considering a $20M plan to build a Law School on the UG campus. If that were approved it could be up and running "within a year".
About the perceived slowness of the legal system in hearing cases and getting redress, he put the blame fairly and squarely on Guyana's lawyers. "It never happened to my clients when I practised. I would do four or five courts in a day." The AG also indicated that there might be some room for the productivity rate of some High Court judges to be addressed.
On regional legal matters, he was glad to see that the Caribbean Court of Justice would become operational in November but declared himself "disgusted" at some of the politicking which had gone on and was still going on around it. The committee which was responsible for the planning was simply too leaky for his liking. "Confidentiality is not what it should be in the Caribbean," he lamented. But on that matter too he was hopeful.
The GLA (UK) was set up to help the legal system in Guyana. It has already sent boxes of law books back to Guyana. These are currently with the Chief Justice awaiting distribution. A second container of law books is currently being assembled for shipment. Attorney-General Singh returns to office on August 16.