Ministry of Legal Affairs

UG clears 10-acre plot for law school - The Chronicle Newspaper - 9th March, 2018

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Published: 09 March 2018

The proposed design for the front of the law school building

… Construction cost pegged at US$6M

THE University of Guyana Council has approved 10 acres of land to be used by the government to construct the Joseph Haynes Law School and Attorney General Basil Williams said that plans are well advanced to establish the facility.

Attorney General Basil Williams

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, said that the matter regarding the allocation of land for the JOF law school was dealt with at their recent council meeting and the decision was made to allocate 10 acres of land to move forward with the construction of the law school.

Asked about the financial arrangements for the use of the land, Professor Griffith said: “One of the realities of the university is by virtue, the gift that precludes us from renting or selling land. There will be no rent charged. Our expectations are that services would be funded by the host and services for maintenance would also be honoured by the host.”
He added that the dynamics is between the AG and the governing body “so we cannot speak about the timeline for construction but the AG is anxious to get moving, but they have to wait on the organisers at that end as to when construction will begin”.

Williams told the Guyana Chronicle that key stakeholders of the projects have already acquired a building plan and designs for the facility which is proposed to be 50,000 sq. ft with three floors. He said construction of the facility is estimated at US$6M. Williams had recently reassured that the school will be opened here.

The APNU+AFC coalition government in January last year announced the project. The project comes after some two decades of lobbying for an alternative to the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.

The JOF Haynes Law School is being established through a Public-Private Partnership between the Government of Guyana, the Law School of the Americas (LCA) and the University College of the Commonwealth (UCC) and will add to the existing options available to holders of a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and who intend to pursue their Legal Education Certificate (LEC).

A timeline of 2018 was set for establishment of the local institution and according to the attorney general, whether or not the time line is met, a local law school will be established. “It is a complex issue … we have to have a law school and whether people are putting up obstacles and so, the obstacles will have to be broken down,” Williams told reporters recently.

He explained that Guyanese students are faced with hefty sums they have to pay along with the small quota of students accepted into the Hugh Wooding Law School. These matters are of concern to his administration. Guyanese students have struggled with the system that allows them entry to the Hugh Wooding Law School and only late last year Williams was able to secure a collaborative agreement between the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Council for Legal Education (CLE) and UG, paving the way for the top 25 Guyanese law students to have automatic entry into the Hugh Wooding Law School.
Back in December last year Williams had said that he had written the Vice Chancellor of UG, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, for him to identify the land that Chancellor Desiree Bernard had in early 2001, 2002 identified. He said the decision was made then that the building on the University of Guyana (UG) Campus.”

At an earlier meeting Williams, along with the task force looking into the establishment of the Joseph Haynes Law School of the Americas, had met to examine the provisions in the Revised Business Plan of the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), one of the Jamaican Partners in the Public/Private Partnership intended to establish the law school.

The business plan was submitted pursuant to a MoU entered into between the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), Law College of the Americas (LCA) and the Government of Guyana (GoG), which contained a provision for a feasibility study to be done to determine the viability of establishing the law school.

AG leads delegation to FATF meeting in Paris - The Chronicle Newspaper - 18th February, 2018

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Published: 26 February 2018

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams addresses the National Assembly on the Witness Protection Bill . (Adrian Narine photo)

GUYANA’S Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, is currently leading a delegation at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary Meeting in Paris, France, in the capacity of Chairman of the Caribbean Financial Task Force (CFATF).
The FATF Plenary Meeting commenced on Sunday for a period of six days at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, France. This is the first meeting the attorney general is attending as Chair of CFATF.

The attorney general is leading a 15-member delegation. As Chair of CFATF, he is representing Guyana, while Celeste McCalla is representing Jamaica. Yvette Pierre, George Pickering and Christopher Brown are representing Bermuda; Yves Stimphat is representing Haiti; and Simon Jose Rangel Angarita, Claudia Yanez, Antonio Delgado, Hencar Castellanos and Jose Luis Genan are representing Venezuela.
FATF is an inter-governmental body that was established in 1989 with the responsibility of setting standards to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

The established standards are the FATF 40 recommendations, which the FATF and CFATF use to monitor their members level of compliance and implementation of measures against money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
This plenary meeting, which is the first of three planned for 2018, is intended to have all relevant parties present to discuss AML/CFT/PF issues. The CFATF as a FATF-Styled Regional Body (FSRB) is fully involved like other FSRBs in the work that is discussed during plenary.

“As the chairman of an FSRB, it is therefore important to remain visible and viable in the discussions that take place at the FATF plenary level. There is an expectation that the issues, their outcomes and requisite follow-thorough in relevant instances will be carried forward by the chair of each FSRB and their secretariats,” the attorney general explained in a statement.

For this plenary meeting, several topics critical to the CFATF region will be discussed, including changes to the FATF Methodology, which impacts the requirements that countries must meet to be compliant; counter-terrorism operational plans and beneficial ownership, de-risking and countries with strategic deficiencies as part of the ICRG process.
The FATF meets three times per year – in February, June and October.

AG takes AML sensitisation campaign to Corentyne - The Chronicles Newspaper - 12th February, 2018

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Published: 26 February 2018

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Williams fielding questions from the audience. Also in picture is former Mayor of Corriverton, Everett Heywood

ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams on Thursday last led a task force to the Corentyne as he continues on a series of Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) outreach and sensitisation seminars across the country.

Williams, who is also chairman of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFTAF), called upon all stakeholders present at the Tej Mohall Hotel in Corriverton to be diligent in their duties as Guyana pushes ahead into the fourth round of evaluations to become compliant with the FATF regulations.

He noted that when the government took office in 2015, the main aim was to get Guyana off the blacklist to ensure citizens conduct their financial transactions with ease and for Guyana to become more investor-friendly.

In explaining the hard road to getting out of the third round and into the fourth, the minster of legal affairs noted that being blacklisted made it difficult for legitimate businesses to be competitive and even forced some businesses to close their doors. However, due to commitment by President Granger to fix the situation, great strides were made, Williams said.

“We were able to achieve all this because the President himself from the onset has given a high-level political commitment to the FATF chairman that Guyana will work with FATF and CFATF to ensure we implement the recommendations of their control bodies,” the attorney general said.

He continued, that Guyana does not want to be found wanting come 2021 when the evaluations for the fourth round  is scheduled and be forced to go back into the third round, as some Caribbean countries were forced to do.

To this end, he formed a multi-stakeholder team inclusive of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), a team from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Bank of Guyana and has embarked on a series of outreaches and seminars across Guyana to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders are aware of their roles and responsibilities and are compliant with the regulations of the CFATF of which Guyana is a member.

While noting that CFATF which is a multi-member body will assist by doing continuous evaluations leading up to the 2021 evaluations, the need to understand their respective roles and responsibilities is paramount, as that is really what the evaluation is about, the attorney general said.

“We cannot have a successful fourth round unless all of these entities are shown to be technically compliant– that is, they have complied with the legislative framework and regulations that were put in place in the third round and that they are working effectively,” he said.

LAW-ABIDING NATION

Williams continued, that despite what had happened in the past, the government’s goal is to make the country a law-abiding and respectable nation.

“If we fail, we will be sanctioned and banks will withdraw services, making it more difficult to conduct business; we are in the fourth round and as far as I’m concerned, it is a more arduous regime,” he said.

Meanwhile, Director of the FIU, Matthew Langevine, in his presentation underscored the need for stakeholders to understand what is required quickly, since the fourth round, which even though scheduled for 2021, can move forward.

“The fourth round was scheduled for 2022, but moved forward to 2021 and the possibility exists it may move up even further, since the pace for the evaluations have picked up to get more countries to comply quickly with the fourth round. We have a lot of work to be done in the few years remaining, which is why the AG and team are taking it to the people in the various regions to ensure Guyana is in compliance for the fourth round.”

He went on to explain that the mutual evaluation process is where member states allow examiners, either from FATF or World Bank or other FATF-styled regional bodies around the world, to come into the FIU and entire AML/CFT regime on a reciprocal basis of the mutually agreed procedures.

“Basically, the evaluations are observations and test for two things: technical compliance, which was completed in the third round, that is, check legal and institutional framework to make sure the requisite laws and institutions are in place to monitor and curtail illegal activities and are on the lookout; and effectiveness, that is, to look at risk-mitigation systems and effectiveness of the measures that were put in place for the third round. Basically, check up on the laws to see if they are working and persons are being charged, etc,” he said.

‘Time for real work’ - The Chronicle Newspaper - 23rd January, 2018

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Published: 24 January 2018

By  Svetlana Marshall

U.S. Ambassador Perry Holloway 

…US Ambassador says real work to combat money laundering must now begin

UNITED STATES Ambassador Perry Holloway has said while CARICOM countries, including Guyana, have made great progress in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, the “real work” must now begin.

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams and CFATF Executive Director, Dawn Spicer

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams engaging in discussions with CFATF Executive Director, Dawn Spicer on the sideline of the training forum

“Regardless of the stage in which you find yourself on the CFATF process, 75 per cent of the CARICOM countries have been able to exit the CFATF follow-up process, which means you must now begin the real work of identifying, investigating, prosecuting and convicting those participating in money laundering and terrorism financing,” Ambassador Holloway told officials from 19 countries, currently meeting in Guyana for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Assessors Training Forum.

Gathered at the opening ceremony were: Chairman of CFATF and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; CFATF Executive Director, Dawn Spicer; and financial experts and assessors.
Ambassador Holloway, said in an effort to safeguard financial institutions, countries in the region must meet the stringent criteria for the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation, as was done by Barbados, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. Guyana will come up for the Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluation in 2022.

CARICOM countries, he stressed, must understand the vulnerabilities in their financial systems and have their agencies work together locally and internationally to ensure proper investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.

“Ensure that financial institutions have implemented the proper rules regulations and technology to prevent and detect money laundering and terrorism financing,” the US Ambassador further urged, while underscoring the importance of complying with the laws and regulations governing the AML/CFT regime.

Participants of the first assessors training forum for 2018 seated at the Pegasus Hotel (Photos by Samuel Maughn)

“Demonstrate that you are properly implementing laws and regulations and continue to strengthen them as necessary in order to investigate, prosecute and deter crimes of financial nature,” he added.

Ambassador Holloway also championed the cause for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and similar organs, noting that they must be properly funded and equipped to effectively use financial intelligence and other relevant information to investigate potential money laundering, terrorism and proliferation crimes. It is important that the information garnered is appropriately made available to prosecutors, he noted.

Meanwhile, Williams in his address explained that the training forum is designed to help assessors develop the skills needed to conduct Mutual Evaluations and by extension the formulation of a Mutual Evaluation Report. “This assessors training is an opportunity for you, the participants, to develop the necessary skills to conduct mutual evaluations, while also developing the understanding needed to produce a Mutual Evaluation Report aligned with the standards established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – Style Regional Bodies (FSRB),” the CFATF chairman said.

“The training is designed to assist you when you are conducting an assessment of a country’s compliance with the FATF standards. The training deals with the assessments of both technical compliance and effectiveness which will present an integrated analysis of the extent to which a country is compliant with the FATF standards, and how successful it is in maintaining a strong AML/CFT system as is required by the FATF recommendations,” Minister Williams explained.

Stating that Mutual Evaluation is a core function of CFATF, he noted that it entails a peer review of a country’s AML/CFT framework with the intent of assessing the existing system against the FATF recommendations. “The concept of a peer review means that each CFATF member is reviewed by other CFATF members and in that regard provides experts or assessors in the areas of legal, financial and law enforcement that will lead to the report being adopted by the CFATF plenary. This training is to ensure that you the experts understand and apply the FATF methodology correctly,” the Attorney General further explained.

He said that it is therefore necessary for assessors to develop the required techniques needed for a sound objective and concise assessment, especially since another country’s rating depends on their assessment.

COMMITTED TO FIGHT 
That aside, Minister Williams said CFATF-Member States remain committed to the fight. “We all must be fully committed to the fight against money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. These illicit activities not only undermine the integrity of our financial systems but threaten the political stability and damage the reputation of countries,” he stated.

The CFATF Executive Director, like the Attorney General, underscored the importance of having assessors effectively trained.

The participants were invited from several CFATF member states, and consist of Financial, Law Enforcement and Legal experts. It is expected that at the end of the forum, 53 participants will be trained as assessors, including individuals from Canada, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Belize and Guyana. The training forum is aimed at equipping the participants with the tools and competencies needed to undertake an assessment of the technical compliance with the revised FATF Recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.

Participants will be introduced to the use of the FATF Methodology which is used to assess a country’s technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations, and for reviewing the level of effectiveness of a country’s AML/CFT system under the Fourth Round Mutual Evaluations process. During this Fourth Round of Mutual Evaluations, FATF has adopted complementary approaches for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations, and for assessing the level of effectiveness of a country’s AML/CFT regime.

Dr. Christopher Bulkan sworn in as new Justice of the Court of Appeal - DPI Jan 17, 2018 Ministry of the Presidency, Press Releases

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Published: 19 January 2018

Georgetown, Guyana – (January 17, 2018) President David Granger, today, reaffirmed his Government’s commitment to ensuring that the judicial system remains independent as he swore in Human Rights Activist and Attorney-at-law, Dr. Christopher Arif Bulkan as the new Justice of the Court of Appeal.

From right: Chief Justice (ag) Justice Roxane George, new Appellate Judge Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan, President David Granger, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Attorney General Basil Williams SC.

In his address at the ceremony, which saw attendance from a number of distinguished guests including Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chief Justice (Ag.) Justice Roxane George- Wiltshire and Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan, the President said that Guyana is a law-based state, where enforcement of the law and the efficient and timely dispensation of justice by the Courts are the fundamental bases. In this regard, the Head of State said that the Judiciary is the vital organ in the preservation of our system of law and order.

“An efficient and independent judiciary ensures that citizens have access to justice and that this access is fair and swift. A full complement of judges, magistrates and legal offices promotes judicial efficiency and public confidence in the rule of law. This ceremony witnesses the appointment of an eminent Guyanese as an acting Justice of the Court of Appeal. This ceremony is provided for in the Constitution of Guyana, the supreme law of the land, which at Article 128 (1) provides that  “Judges, other than the Chancellor and the Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President who shall act in accordance with the advice of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)”. Nothing could be clearer. This ceremony is an affirmation of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the judicial system remains independent,” President Granger said.

Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan

In 2017, Dr. Bulkan was nominated by the Cabinet to represent Guyana on the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). He is a former lecturer at the University of the West Indies with specialisations in Public Law, Constitutional Law, Caribbean Human Rights Law, and International Human Rights Law.

In an invited comment, Dr. Bulkan said that he is pleased with the appointment and looks forward to working with all stakeholders to address the backlog of cases, which currently plagues the judicial system.

The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams and members of the Judicial Services Commission, which is responsible for making the recommendation to the President.

President David Granger and Dr Christopher Arif Bulkan