Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, on Tuesday announced that a new set of Guyana Law Reports covering the period 2008 to 2021 will be launched, signalling what he described as a major corrective step in the country’s legal history.
Nandlall made the disclosure while addressing the Opening of the Law Year 2026 at a Special Sitting of the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Judicature.
“We also will be launching and should have been launching at the same time the new set of the Guyana Law Reports from 2008 to 2021,” the Attorney General said. He added that the work will not stop there. “As soon as that launch is completed, I will begin to work on a new set of revision and a new set of law reports.”
He stressed that the government is intent on ensuring that prolonged lapses in law reporting do not occur again. “I don’t want, when I say I, I mean the government, the executive government does not want these lapses to reoccur,” Nandlall said, noting that Guyana’s record in this area has been poor. “We have only had, after this edition or prior to this edition, we have only had two revisions of the laws of Guyana after 70 years of independence. That is deplorable, but that is being corrected.”
Emphasising the importance of proper law reporting, the Attorney General said it is central to the functioning of the legal system. “Law reporting is important for the legal profession. It’s important for the doctrine of precedent. It’s important for the judges to have easy access to their decisions,” he said.
He pointed to recent guidance from the Caribbean Court of Justice, referencing the case of Sarah Brown and Ramkisoon and Christopher Jones. “As the Caribbean Court of Justice emphasized recently… the doctrine of precedent brings consistency and brings predictability to the law,” Nandlall stated.
The Attorney General also spoke candidly about the professional pride attached to law reporting. “I know that judges like their decisions to be reported. I know that lawyers like to see their names in the law reports,” he said, expressing hope that regular publication would encourage deeper legal scholarship. “I am hoping that the now regular publication of the law reports would be an added incentive for us to do research and for us to write.”
However, he cautioned that not every matter would qualify. “It is the important and crucial cases that will make the law reports, not all; we can’t report every case,” Nandlall said.
Placing the initiative within a wider national context, the Attorney General said the legal sector must evolve alongside the country. “We are at an exciting time in our country’s history. There is transformation taking place everywhere and transformation is taking place in the judiciary,” he told the gathering.
He reminded members of the Bar of their unique role and responsibility. “The legal profession must transform itself. You have a facility that no other profession has. You are self-regulatory and don’t take that professional autonomy for granted,” Nandlall said. “To remain self-regulatory, you have to become responsible and you have to become accountable.”
