Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago

Highest judge of the state Trinidad and Tobago

The chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago is the highest judge of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and presides over the Supreme Court of Judicature of Trinidad and Tobago.[1] He is appointed by a common decision of the President, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.[1]

## History

[edit]

Tobago was claimed for England already by King James I in 1608, however in the following time saw varying rulers.[2] In 1794, a planter was elected the first chief justice.[3] The island was eventually ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris[4] and from 1833 it was assigned to the colony of the British Windward Islands.[5]

In 1797, Trinidad, who had been previously controlled by the Spanish Crown, was captured by a fleet commanded by Sir Ralph Abercromby and thus came under THE British government.[6] The post of a chief justice was established in March of the same year.[7] Both islands, Trinidad and Tobago were incorporated into a single colony in 1888, which gained its independence in 1962.[8]

## Chief justices of Tobago

[edit]

* 1794–1799: John Balfour[3] (non-lawyer)
* 1799–1804: Robert Paterson [9] (non-lawyer)
* 1805–1828 ?: Elphinstone Pigott
* 1828–1832 No appointment
* 1832–1833: Richard Newton Bennett[10]
* 1833–? G. Buchanan [11] \- substitute for Robert Sympson Jameson
* 1840–1841: Robert Nicholas Fynn[12]
* 1841–1861: Edward Dyer Sanderson[13]
* 1862–1867: Henry Iles Woodcock[14]
* 1868–1880: Joseph King Wattley, Jnr [15]
* 1880–1882: James Sherrard Armstrong[16]
* 1882–1888: John Worrell Carrington[17]

## Chief judges of Trinidad

[edit]

* 1797–1808: John Nihell[7]
* 1808–1811: George Smith[18]
* 1814–1818: John Thomas Bigge[19]
* 1818–1830: Ashton Warner[20]

## Chief justices of Trinidad

[edit]

* 1669–?: Juan Fermin de Huidobro [21]
* 1832–1849: George Scotland[19]
* 1849–1869: William George Knox[22]
* 1870–1885: Joseph Needham[23]
* 1886–1888: Sir John Gorrie[24]

## Chief justices of Trinidad and Tobago

[edit]

* 1888–1892: Sir John Gorrie[25]
* 1892–1899: John Tankerville Goldney[26]
* 1900–1903: Sir William John Anderson[27]
* 1903–1907: Ernest Augustus Northcote[28]
* 1908–1924: Alfred van Waterschoodt Lucie-Smith[29]
* 1924–1926: Sir Stanley Fisher[30] (afterwards Chief Justice of Ceylon, 1926)
* 1927–1930: Sir Philip James Macdonell[31] (afterwards Chief Justice of Ceylon, 1930)
* 1930–1937: Charles Frederic Belcher[32]
* 1937–1943: Charles Cyril Gerahty[33]
* 1943–1946: Henry William Butler Blackall[34]
* 1946–1952: Cecil Furness-Smith[35]
* 1952–1958: Joseph Leon Mathieu Perez[36]
* 1958–1960: Stanley Eugene Gomes[37] (afterwards Chief Justice of the West Indies Federation, 1961)
* 1961–1962: Arthur Hugh McShine (acting) [38]
* 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago became independent as a Dominion / Commonwealth realm
* 1962–1968: Sir Hugh Olliviere Beresford Wooding[39]
* 1969–1970: Arthur Hugh McShine[38]
* 1970–1971: Clement Phillips (acting) [40]
* 1972–1983: Sir Isaac Hyatali[41]
* 1976 - Trinidad and Tobago is declared as the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
* 1983–1985: Cecil Kelsick[42]
* 1985–1995: Clinton Bernard[43]
* 1995–2002: Michael de la Bastide[44]
* 2002–2008: Satnarine Sharma[45]
* 2008–present: Ivor Archie[46]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Attacks on Justice - Trinidad and Tobago" (PDF). International Commission of Jurists. p. 358\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
2. ^ Hart (1866), p. 238
3. ^ a b Laurence (1995), p. 55
4. ^ Woodcock (1867), p. 75
5. ^ Woodcock (1867), p. 82
6. ^ Millett (1985), p. 46
7. ^ a b Millett (1985), p. 47
8. ^ Nolan (2002), p. 1694
9. ^ Tobago in Wartime, 1793-1815. p. 77.
10. ^ O'Connell (1972), p. 21
11. ^ The Royal Kalendar and Court and City Register for England, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies, 1933. p. 463.
12. ^ "No. 19901". The London Gazette. 6 October 1840. p. 2203.
13. ^ "No. 19973". The London Gazette. 27 April 1841. p. 1079.
14. ^ "No. 22591". The London Gazette. 21 January 1862. p. 334.
15. ^ Modern English Biography: (Supplement v.1-3). p. 2273.
16. ^ Rose (1888), p. 325
17. ^ "No. 25086". The London Gazette. 21 March 1882. p. 1282.
18. ^ Millett (1985), p. 230
19. ^ a b Joseph (1970), p. 113
20. ^ Hart (1866), p. 198
21. ^ Marley, David. Pirates of the Americas, Volume 1. p. 139.
22. ^ "No. 21006". The London Gazette. 7 August 1849. p. 2451.
23. ^ "No. 23600". The London Gazette. 22 March 1870. p. 1833.
24. ^ Brereton (1997), p. 231
25. ^ Brereton (1997), p. 259
26. ^ "No. 26317". The London Gazette. 16 August 1892. p. 4657.
27. ^ "No. 27173". The London Gazette. 13 March 1900. p. 1709.
28. ^ "No. 27617". The London Gazette. 17 November 1903. p. 7030.
29. ^ "No. 28161". The London Gazette. 24 July 1908. p. 5420.
30. ^ "No. 32983". The London Gazette. 17 October 1924. p. 7506.
31. ^ "No. 33243". The London Gazette. 28 January 1927. p. 578.
32. ^ "No. 33658". The London Gazette. 4 November 1930. p. 6945.
33. ^ "No. 34397". The London Gazette. 11 May 1937. p. 3108.
34. ^ "No. 35897". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 February 1943. p. 717.
35. ^ "No. 37755". The London Gazette. 11 October 1946. p. 5038.
36. ^ "No. 39537". The London Gazette. 9 May 1952. p. 2508.
37. ^ "No. 41557". The London Gazette. 25 November 1958. p. 7215.
38. ^ a b Comma (1973), p. 193
39. ^ Comma (1973), p. 280
40. ^ "The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago : Supreme Court : Who's Who : Chief Justices". Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
41. ^ Comma (1973), p. 33
42. ^ Yawching (1991), p. 189
43. ^ Yawching (1991), p. 83
44. ^ West (2001), p. 732
45. ^ "Appointment of Chief Justice" (PDF). Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. No. 135\. 15 July 2002. p. 7593\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
46. ^ "Appointment of Chief Justice" (PDF). Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. No. 9\. 24 January 2008. p. 55\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2009.

## References

[edit]

* Millett, James (1985). Society and Politics in Colonial Trinidad. Omega. ISBN 0-86232-421-1.
* Joseph, Edward Lanzer (1970). History of Trinidad. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-1939-6.
* Hart, Daniel (1866). Trinidad and the other West India Islands and Colonies. Trinidad: The Chronicle Publishing Office.
* Brereton, Bridget (1997). Law, Justice and Empire: The Colonial Career of John Gorrie, 1829–1892. Kingston, Jamaica: Press University of the West Indies. ISBN 976-640-035-0.
* Comma, Carlton N. (1973). Who's Who in Trinidad and Tobago 1972–1973. Port of Spain: Carib Printers Ltd.
* Yawching, Donna (1991). Who's Who and Handbook of Trinidad and Tobago. Inprint Caribbean Ltd. ISBN 976-608-038-0.
* Jacqueline West, ed. (2001). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. London: Europe Publications. ISBN 1-85743-121-9.
* Nolan, Cathal J. (2002). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations S-Z. Vol. IV. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32383-6.
* Woodcock, Henry Iles (1867). A History of Tobago. Ayr: Smith and Grant.
* Laurence, Keith Ormiston (1995). Tobago in Wartime, 1793–1815. Kingston, Jamaica: Press University of the West Indies. ISBN 976-640-003-2.
* Daniel O'Connell & Maurice R. O'Connell (1972). Irish Manuscripts Commission (ed.). The Correspondence of Daniel O'Connell: 1792–1814. Vol. I. Kingston, Jamaica: Irish University Press. ISBN 0-7165-0208-9.
* Rose, George Maclean (1888). A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography. Vol. II. Rose Publishing Co.

## External links

[edit]

* "Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2009.

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