GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Aug 10, CMC – Guyana’s two main political parties are expressing concerns and alarm over the administration of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) with on of the parties calling on the head of the court, Justice Winston Anderson to resign.
Their calls follow a report in the Trinidad and Tobago Sunday Express newspaper claiming that Justice Anderson had been accused by a majority of his fellow judges of governing the regional court in an “authoritarian” and “dictatorial” manner.
The newspaper said that the complaints range from unilaterally imposing a judicial dress code to allegations of “panel fixing” and attempts to influence the outcome of cases.
Guyana is among several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries that have full membership of the court established on 16 April 2005, following the signing of its founding agreement on 14 February 2001.
The other countries have signed on to both the Appellate and Original Jurisdictions of the CCJ are Barbados, Belize, St. Lucia, Dominica, while the other CARICOM countries are members of the Original Jurisdiction of the Court that also serves as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the rehional integration movement.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who recently lost a matter regarding his extradition to the United States on fraud related charges, said he is “deeply disturbed by extraordinary revelations emerging from internal correspondence among judges” of the CCJ.
He said that his concerns also include “attempts to influence judicial decision-making” in his extradition matter.
“The significance of these revelations cannot be overstated. These concerns do not come from a lone or dissenting voice within the Court. According to the published internal correspondence, five of the CCJ’s six sitting judges challenged the leadership of CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson. In other words, concerns about the direction and administration of the Caribbean’s highest court were expressed by an overwhelming majority of its sitting judges,” Mohamed said in his statement.
He said that the “revelations cannot be dismissed as political criticism of the CCJ. They originate from within the Court itself, from judges entrusted with protecting the rule of law and the independence of the Caribbean’s final appellate institution.
“The CCJ is Guyana’s final appellate court. Public confidence in that institution depends fundamentally upon the independence of every judge, the integrity of judicial deliberations and the absolute assurance that no judge, regardless of position or seniority, can improperly influence the judicial opinions of another.”
Mohamed said that the “gravity is even greater because these allegations touch proceedings involving Guyana’s sitting Leader of the Opposition and an extradition process that has generated significant political controversy in Guyana”.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary leader of the opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr Terrence Campbell has called on Justice Anderson, who was sworn in as the fourth head of the CCJ on July 6, last year, to resign saying “the Caribbean deserves a final court whose judges are free from political influence and whose President commands the confidence of his fellow judges, the legal profession, governments and the people of the region”.
In a statement, Campbell said that the CCJ faces a situation in which its “confidence is now at risk” by Caribbean citizens, governments and the legal profession who expect that tribunal to be independent, impartial and beyond political influence.
Campbell said that the “CCJ is bigger than any one judge,” and that Justice Anderson’s resignation would not be an admission of guilt but an “act of institutional responsibility” with the aim of restoring confidence in the CCJ.
“It would create the space for the CCJ to address the concerns that have emerged, restore confidence in its leadership, reaffirm the principle of judicial independence and demonstrate that the integrity of the institution must always take precedence over the tenure of any individual office-holder,” he said.
He said that if the Trinidad-based CCJ is to become the final court of appeal for more Caribbean countries it must first demonstrate beyond question that its own leadership is independent, impartial, collegial and worthy of the confidence that such an institution demands.
“The restoration of confidence in the CCJ must begin with accountability at the highest level. Justice Winston Anderson should resign,” he said.
In a statement to the Sunday Express newspaper, the CCJ said it “is mindful that questions and allegations presented without the benefit of context, background, or an appreciation of the nature of judicial deliberations, collegial discussions, and institutional governance may lend themselves to misunderstanding or mischaracterisation.
“For that reason, the Court wishes to reaffirm that the Judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice remain committed to the tenets of judicial conduct enshrined in the United Nations Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct—independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality, competence, and diligence.
“Maintaining public confidence in the Court is fundamental to upholding the rule of law and preserving trust in the administration of justice. The Caribbean Court of Justice remains committed to providing accessible fair and efficient justice for the people and states of the Caribbean Community.”
CMC/gt/ir/2026