Judge Abel Warns Judge Persaud Visa Review Threatens Judicial Independence

A Caribbean jurist has warned that the U.S. decision that prevented Guyanese High Court Justice Gino Persaud from boarding a flight through Miami could have implications far beyond the judge himself, raising questions about the vulnerability of judicial independence when foreign executive power intersects with politically sensitive cases.

Justice Courtney Abel, a former Belize Supreme Court Judge and Head of the Department of Law at the University of Guyana, made the remarks Wednesday at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA) Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica. The conference, held from September 20–24, has brought together more than 430 delegates from 44 countries to examine issues including judicial independence, access to justice and the rule of law.

Abel was speaking during a session on “Current tensions between Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law”, a topic made particularly relevant by the circumstances surrounding Persaud’s attempted journey to Jamaica.