Sarah Browne and Vickash Ramkissoon permitted as Parliamentary Secretaries – CCJ

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today (Wednesday, October 30) delivered a ruling which determined that Sarah Browne and Vickash Ramkissoon are permitted to be appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries.

Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones had in 2020 challenged the appointments of Ramkissoon and Browne as Parliamentary Secretaries to the Amerindian Affairs and Agriculture Ministries respectively.

He had contended that Browne and Ramkissoon cannot be appointed as non-elected parliamentarians, since they were named on the List of Candidates presented by the PPP/C for the March 2, 2020, General and Regional Elections.

Jones’ case was first upheld by acting Chief Justice Roxane George in 2021 and in 2023, Court of Appeal Judge Dawn Gregory affirmed George’s ruling. In dismissing the appeal, Gregory ruled that Browne and Ramkissoon were not lawful members of the National Assembly since they were on the candidate list.

According to Gregory, CJ George did not misconstrue the constitution when she found that the appellants were not eligible to be appointed as non-voting members.

The Court of Appeal noted that the Chief Justice acted in law, by following the precedent set in Attorney General vs Morian, which was first decided by now-late Chief Justice Ian Chang in 2016 and whose decision was later affirmed by the Court of Appeal.

But the Guyana Government had moved to the CCJ, seeking to overturn the rulings of the local courts.

The judgement was delivered by Justice Winston Anderson on Wednesday.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, commenting on the CCJ ruling today, said “the Caribbean Court of Justice has now finally settled the law and has clarified whatever ambiguities may have existed in relation to these constitutional provisions that relate to the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries as well as Technocratic Members of the National Assembly.”

“Constitutionalism has won,” Nandlall said.