Chief Justice Carl Singh anticipates the Commercial Court to be up and running in sufficient time to meet the expiration of the three-year life of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded project.
He says a number of preparatory steps have to be taken which would make giving a precise time for the establishment of the court difficult right now.
The IDB has provided a US$500,000 grant to Guyana for the establishment of the Commercial Court and a Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism. Of this amount, a Government Information Agency (GINA)release said some US$230,000 would be absorbed by consultancies.
The Office of the Chief Justice has already invited firms to submit their service profiles for Pre-Qualification and Justice Singh has told Stabroek Business that he expects the consultants to be on board by January 2005.
The Chief Justice explained that before the court can be up and running, there has to be a public awareness programme to educate people about its purpose and judges must be identified and trained to sit on the rules committee of the court.
The GINA release said that the "court has been long awaited in Guyana and will be especially beneficial to the Private Sector in settling commercial disputes with low cost and reduced legal risk." A number of banking sector officials have been calling for the court because it could help them more efficiently recover loans in cases of default. It is also seen as an important tool in promoting investor confidence.
The objective of the project is to strengthen the judicial and extra-judicial framework for expeditious, transparent and fair resolution of commercial disputes and the execution of contracts, involving financial transactions.
The GINA release said the project is in keeping with the Guyana government's commitment to ensuring transparency and efficiency within the judicial system and that the entire judicial system will be boosted by the project as it will reduce demand and backlog allowing for more speedy resolution of cases.