Two civil society campaigners have turned to Guyana’s High Court to force the country’s top Access to Information official to finally rule on a year-old request for critical industry documents covering the nation’s fast-growing oil and gas sector. The case centers on Retired Justice of Appeal Charles Ramson Snr, the country’s Access to Information Commissioner, who activists say has repeatedly failed to either approve or reject their detailed request for sensitive sector records.
Lead petitioner Danuta Radzik outlined in court filings submitted Tuesday that Ramson issued a non-committal response to the activists’ original October 22, 2025 request just two days later on October 24, 2025, stopping short of a formal approval or denial. If Radzik succeeds in her judicial challenge, she is seeking a rare court order that would require Ramson to personally cover all her legal costs on a full indemnity basis, including fees for two of her attorneys, within 14 days of a cost assessment. The filing also specifies that none of these costs can be drawn or reimbursed from public coffers, with interest accumulating on the amount owed until full payment is completed.
Radzik’s legal team notes that after a recent High Court ruling set a precedent for timely processing of information requests in the case Ram v Ramson, the activists sent a formal follow-up letter urging Ramson to issue a final determination on their request within 14 days, warning that judicial review would be filed if he failed to act. Ramson acknowledged receipt of the September 2026 letter on October 14, 2026, but again declined to issue a ruling on the request. In his response, Ramson dismissed the earlier Ram v Ramson precedent as merely a decision by a junior puisne judge, argued that the court’s mandated processing timeframe had not yet elapsed, and advised the activists to wait for final judicial guidance on the Access To Information Act before pushing for a ruling.
In her legal challenge, Radzik is asking the High Court to formally rule that Ramson’s failure to approve or deny the request within the 60-day window mandated by Guyana’s Access To Information Act, and his ongoing inaction on the request overall, violates Section 18 of the legislation and qualifies as a reviewable decision under Section 43(3) of the law. She further argues that Ramson’s October 14 refusal to rule on the request pending future judicial guidance is unlawful, irrational, and legally void.
Beyond a declaration of unlawful inaction, Radzik is seeking a binding court order that compels Ramson to process and rule on the information request in full compliance with the law, and share his formal determination with the activists within 14 days of the court’s order. The petitioner also specified that regardless of whether access is granted, Ramson must provide formal written notification: if access is approved, documents must be released immediately, and if access is refused, deferred, or the records cannot be located after a thorough search, written notice of that outcome must be provided.
Court records confirm the activists’ original request was highly specific, with each document clearly identified by permit number, project title, associated company, and relevant operational year. The records being sought cover a wide range of high-stakes oil and gas and energy projects in Guyana, including: the environmental permit for the 300-megawatt gas-to-power plant; the full request for proposals for the design, financing, and operation of that gas-to-energy project; the environmental permit for the natural gas liquids gas-to-energy facility; an updated environmental and social baseline study for the sector; the missing terms of reference for an existing environmental permit; the feasibility study for associated gas required under Article 12 of Guyana’s 2016 Petroleum Agreement; and all environmental permits for four sector operators: Schlumberger Guyana Inc., Tiger Rentals Guyana Inc, Sustainable Environmental Solutions Inc. Guyana, and Professional Waste Solutions Inc. (PWSI). The request also includes EPA certification for all marine vessels transporting hazardous waste from the Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara, and Yellowtail offshore oil platforms to onshore waste management facilities between 2020 and 2025, as well as transport certification and bonding for all road vehicles carrying chemicals and hazardous materials to onshore facilities for the same 2020 to 2025 period, in line with Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board regulations.