The recent disclosure of internal correspondence among Judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice has understandably generated widespread concern throughout Guyana and the wider Caribbean. While I fully accept that judicial deliberations and internal communications are generally intended to remain confidential, it would be a grave mistake to focus exclusively on the fact of the leak while ignoring the substance of what has been revealed.

The statement issued by the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Guyana emphasizes the importance of preserving the confidentiality of judicial communications and expresses no view on the substance of the matters disclosed. It further suggests that the disclosure itself, rather than its contents, risks bringing the administration of justice into disrepute. I respectfully disagree.

More fundamentally, I am not persuaded that the statement reflects the views of a significant section of the Guyanese legal profession. Many practitioners, both senior and junior, have expressed serious concern not about the disclosure itself, but about the matters disclosed. Indeed, there appears to be widespread unease that the Bar Council has chosen to remain silent on issues which go to the very heart of judicial governance, institutional accountability, and public confidence in the administration of justice. Confidentiality is an important principle, but it cannot become a shield behind which serious allegations concerning the operation of a court are insulated from scrutiny. Public confidence in the administration of justice is not maintained by secrecy alone. It is maintained by confidence that judicial institutions operate in accordance with the principles of fairness, transparency, accountability, collegiality, and respect for established processes. The information contained in the leaked correspondence is deeply troubling.

According to the reports, concerns were raised by a majority of the sitting judges of the Caribbean Court of Justice regarding issues of governance, consultation, decision-making, judicial administration, and leadership. Allegations reportedly include unilateral decision-making, concerns about the composition of judicial panels, attempts to influence judicial outcomes, and complaints regarding an increasingly problematic internal culture within the Court. These are not trivial complaints. Nor are they complaints emanating from external critics of the Court. They are concerns reportedly expressed by members of the Court itself, including a majority of its serving judges. If accurate, they suggest a significant loss of confidence within the institution by those charged with carrying out its constitutional responsibilities. For Guyana, these developments carry particular significance.

The Caribbean Court of Justice is our final appellate tribunal. It occupies the highest position in our judicial hierarchy and serves as the ultimate guardian of legal rights and constitutional protections. Its authority depends not upon force but upon public confidence in its independence, impartiality, and institutional integrity. The question which therefore arises is not simply who leaked the correspondence. The more important question is whether the matters disclosed reveal systemic concerns which require urgent examination and remedial action. A profession committed to the rule of law should not instinctively seek to suppress discussion of issues affecting the governance of its highest court. Rather, it should insist upon processes capable of determining the facts, addressing legitimate concerns, and restoring confidence where confidence has been shaken. The objective must not be to undermine the Caribbean Court of Justice. On the contrary, the objective must be to protect it. Strong institutions are strengthened, not weakened, when concerns are confronted openly, honestly, and responsibly. The reported correspondence has revealed matters that are sufficiently serious to warrant more than expressions of regret about a breach of confidentiality. They call for careful and independent examination.

The public, the legal profession, and litigants throughout the Caribbean are entitled to reassurance that the Court continues to operate in accordance with the highest standards of judicial independence, integrity, and good governance. Nothing less is required if confidence in the Court and its processes is to be fully restored.

C.A. Nigel Hughes
Managing Partner
Hughes, Fields & Stoby