JPs, Commissioners of Oaths & Affidavits who abuse powers will have their appointments revoked – AG

Justices of the Peace (JPs) and Commissioners of Oaths and Affidavits who abuse their powers will have their appointments revoked, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall has warned.

During his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday evening, Nandlall said he has received multiple complaints that persons who hold these appointments are abusing their powers.

“That they are doing things that this appointment doesn’t qualify them to do,” Nandlall said.

The powers of a JP and Commissioner of Oath are limited to minor administrative or procedural functions such as witnessing, signing or administering affidavits.

Nandlall emphasised that they “are not attorneys at law and this appointment that you have received as a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner of Oath of Affidavit, neither of those appointments nor the combination of the two qualify you to perform any legal services.”

The Attorney General said there are instances where these officers have opened offices, offering a range of services they are not qualified to provide, and are charging exorbitant fees.

He also recalled an instance where a JP placed his stamp on a landlord’s eviction notice to a tenant, noting that “that is not a function of the JP.”

“When you pretend to be a lawyer, you’re committing a number of offences, particularly when you’re charging persons for legal services which you are not qualified to offer,” Nandlal warned, noting that these appointments can be revoked.

In fact, he said when the appointments were made, the officers were duly informed of their roles and responsibilities.

“It was explained to each of these persons that this appointment is intended for them to use this newly acquired qualifications for the public good, to use it to assist persons in their communities who may require that type of service…It was specifically made clear that these appointments are not intended to make them commercial operators, that is to say, to offer these services at exorbitant prices,” Nandlall highlighted.

In this regard, he called on persons engaged in these practices to desist from doing so.

A few years ago, the Bar Association of Guyana raised similar concerns. In a statement, the association said “we also note with alarm, the abuse by some Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oaths to Affidavits of their commission, in performing legal services including the drafting of legal documents contrary to the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. 4:01.”

The association had pointed out that Justices of the Peace and or Commissioners of Oaths to Affidavits are only permitted pursuant to S. 96 of the Evidence Act, Cap. 5:03 to certify the receipt of such oaths, affirmations and or statutory declarations. Such commission does not extend to and or permit the drafting and or preparation of any legal documents or in any way permit the performance of any legal service, it noted.

Moreover, the association had also expressed concerns over the heightened frequency of other persons who are not duly admitted to practice law in Guyana brazenly advertising the offer of legal services which in some instances, includes the preparation of a number of legal documents touching and concerning inter alia divorces, custody, deeds, leases, conveyances, agreements, land transactions and estates.