Guyana Legal System Overview
Guyana has two legal traditions, British common law and the Roman-Dutch code, the latter now largely relegated to matters of land tenure. The constitution is the supreme law of the land and in 2009 Guyana adopted the Caribbean Court of Justice as its final court of appeal, replacing the Privy Council.[1]
The Government has tried to strengthen the legislation to deal with corruption and since president Granger came into office he has enacted the State Asset Recovery Act, Witness Protection Act and the Protected Disclosures Act. The State Asset Recovery Act is in accord with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and deals with the recovery of the stolen assets of the State.
The Witness Protection Act fulfils Guyana’s obligations under the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol the UN Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. The Protected Disclosures (Whistle-blower) Act marks another step by the Government towards full compliance with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.
The new laws add to Guyana’s list of legislation to combat corruption, which already consists of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Integrity Commission Act and the Access to Information Act.[2] However, the laws designed to ensure government transparency are inconsistently upheld.
This is reflected in Guyana’s ranking of the Transparency international ranks where Guyana is ranked 87th.
Although these are created to combat corruption the rankings show that without proper implementation of these laws’ corruption will still be an issue.
Another problem in the judiciary is a shortage of staff and lack of resources which obstruct the judiciary’s effectiveness.[4]
Need advice?
If you’d like further information, or to discuss working with us, you can get in touch via our Contact Us page.
References
[1] Guyana, Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/Government-and-society
[2] Ministry of Legal Affairs, https://mola.gov.gy/15-news-/565-international-anti-corruption-december-9-2018
[3] https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023
[4] Freedom in the World Guyana, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/guyana
Drop us a message
To learn more about our legal services kindly reach out by completing the form on the right.
Alternatively, you can contact our office at +44 (0) 20 3875 7422 or leave us a message.
Our team of experts is looking forward to assisting you with your legal needs.
