Barbados swears in new Chief Justice

Barbados’ new Chief Justice Marston Gibson (pictured), wants to observe first, before making any pronouncements on how he plans to approach his new job.

Shortly after being sworn into office by Governor General Sir Clifford Husbands at Government House this morning, he told the media his first order of business would be to “look and listen, because I still need to get the lay of the land and get an idea of what is happening. It is easy to have ideas when you are not yet exposed to the context in which you are going to work and therefore you have to look and listen; cnce I have done that, then to do what I need to do.”

Gibson took the oath of office as his mother, a proud Hazel Gibson, and other relatives looked on. She later told the weekend Nation “I am so honoured and pleased and proud to see what he has achieved. I do thank God for His special blessings and I ask Him to guide him and protect him (her son) as he undertakes this great venture because it is not an easy thing to do. I hope he is the answer to what Barbados needs.”

Gibson said his “ultimate aim and objective” was “to follow in the rich traditions of the prior Chief Justices of this noble country of ours, and to leave the system when my term is over, a better place than I found it.”

Source: Barbados Nation