Caribbean Court of Justice President to take office

Legal minds from across the region and beyond will gather in St. Kitts and Nevis this week to witness the historic swearing-in of Kittitian-born Sir Dennis Byron (pictured) as the new President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Sir Dennis will be sworn in on Thursday in the presence of Governor General Sir Cuthbert Montraville Sebastian; Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and Current Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. Denzil L. Douglas; the Chief Justices of the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), Jamaica, the Bahamas, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados; the Chancellor of the Judiciary in Guyana, Attorneys General from across Caribbean, and scores of judges, barristers, friends and family members.

He succeeds Mr. Justice Michael de la Bastide who retired on August 18.

After 16 years of private law practice in the Eastern Caribbean, Sir Dennis served as High Court Judge, Justice of Appeal and then Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

During his tenure as Chief Justice, Sir Dennis led the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Judicial Reform Programme, which included the establishment of a Code of Ethics for Judges, the implementation of new Civil Procedure Rules and the establishment of a Judicial Education Institute, among other innovations.

His special interest in judicial education activities has led to his appointment as President of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (CJEI), a position which he has held since 2000.

In 2004, Sir Dennis Byron was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and he was appointed a member of the Privy Council. In that year, he also became a permanent judge of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

As President of the ICTR, Sir Dennis Byron was responsible for the overall management of the Court and the implementation of ICTR strategic policies, through liaison with member states and the United Nations Security Council.

While at the ICTR, he sat on seven trial benches and served on a number of pre-trial benches