Plenary Sessions

Judicial Wellness

Michele A. Salmon has been Parish Judge for four years.  After completing studies in 2006 she practiced Civil and Criminal litigation at the law firm of Vaccianna & Whittingham. In 2007 she joined the public bar as Clerk of Courts for the parish of Clarendon and in 2009 she was promoted to Crown Counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. During her time as prosecutor she was a member of several specialized units, in particular the Human Rights, Sexual Offences and Intellectual Property Unit where she was Co-Chair for Trafficking in Persons. She rose through the ranks holding the positions of Assistant DPP and Deputy DPP, before becoming a Parish Judge in October 2017 in the Western Regional Family Court. In January 2018 she was transferred to the parish of St Ann where she is the Snr. Parish Judge, Actg. She is a member of the Management Committee for CAJO and she is trained to train Judges in The Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and Gender Sensitive Adjudication as part of the Train-the-Trainer model. After completing her training in Gender Sensitive Adjudication in July 2018, she was invited by JURIST to train Prosecutors, Police Officers and other stakeholders from Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana on How to Effectively Prosecute Sexual Assault Cases under the Sexual Offences Model Court Initiative. Her main interests are Mental Health, Gender Based Violence and dancing. 

Dr. Joseph Sadek is a psychiatrist and the chair of the Education Section the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He is a Professor (Associate) of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and the clinical and academic leader, of Acute Care, Nova Scotia Hospital. Dr. Sadek is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (DABPN) and fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC). In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Sadek was a pharmacist and has an MBA from St. Mary’s University in Halifax. He served as the provincial chair the Nova Scotia Suicide Prevention Task Force and developed a tool that is widely used worldwide. He is one of the authors of the Canadian AHD treatment Guidelines. Dr. Sadek completed his psychiatry residency training at Dalhousie University in 2004 and his psychopharmacology research training and one year Global Clinical Scholars research Training program at Harvard University. He has numerous publications including 5 books (ADHD, suicide prevention & Psychopharmacology), book chapters and numerous peer reviewed articles. He received numerous awards including an award from the Government of Nova Scotia. 

Dr Dianne Douglas is a Doctor of Psychology specializing in Clinical and Community Psychology. She is the founder and Director of Douglas & Associates Ltd., a company based in Trinidad and Tobago, providing psychological and consulting services, for over 19 years. Dr Douglas was trained in the United States of America (USA) at Wheaton College and Yale University. She was then appointed Assistant Clinical Professor by Yale University’s School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry, for six (6) years. On her return to Trinidad and Tobago, she lectured at both the undergraduate and Masters Level at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus. Dr Douglas is widely sought out as an international consultant. She has provided expertise to the United Nations, The Commonwealth, The Organization of American States (OAS), CARICOM, the State of Connecticut, INTERPOL, and The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). Dr Douglas’ wealth of knowledge and experience, have resourced the justice, security and social service sectors especially the Family Court of Trinidad and Tobago and jurisdictions in Guyana, St Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Turks and Caicos; the Judicial Education Institute (JEI), The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF), the Children’s Authority and the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU). Dr Douglas also provides expertise to the corporate sector through retreats, workplace interventions, workshops, seminars and presentations on a wide range of issues. Dr. Douglas is a past President and member of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Psychologists (TTAP), a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA). She is a member of the Board of the Bishop Anstey High School, her alma mater, and sits on the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago’s Domestic Violence Process Review and Enhancement Committee. 

Tatiana Veress works as Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) where she coordinates the activities of UNODC’s Global Judicial Integrity Network as a platform for judges and judiciaries from all around the world to join forces in strengthening judicial integrity. Among other thematic areas, Ms. Veress has led the Network’s recent work focusing on the linkages between judicial well-being and judicial integrity and understanding how well-being impacts judges’ behaviour and performance and what judges need to promote their well-being. Ms. Veress has many years of professional experience in policy and technical assistance work on a variety of UNODC’s mandate areas, including organized crime, trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, corruption and economic crime and judicial integrity.

Environmental Justice

The Hon Justice Roxane George was appointed acting Chief Justice of Guyana on February 24, 2017 and as a Justice of Appeal on May 17, 2017. Chief Justice (Ag) George was appointed a Puisne Judge with effect from January 1, 2005 and prior to that, from 2002-2004, served as Acting Director of Public Prosecutions. Justice George is a member of the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers, Guyana Association of Women Judges, Caribbean Association of Women Judges, Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association, and serves on the Management Committee of the CAJO. She has co-drafted and contributed to significant legislation and policies including the Domestic Violence Act 1996 and Guyana’s Constitutional Reform Process from 1997-2003. Chief Justice (Ag) George also lectured in Law for Accountants, Commercial Law, and Family Law at the University of Guyana from 1993-2003 and has facilitated a number of judicial education seminars on gender-based violence, women’s rights, and issues affecting women, children, and their development. Chief Justice (Ag) George is a graduate of the UWI (1988) and HWLS (1990) and has also attained an MSt International Human Rights Law from Oxford University (2006).

Professor The Honourable Mr Justice Winston Anderson is a Jamaican national who matriculated to the University of the West Indies in 1980 where he obtained a Bachelor of Law degree (LLB) in 1983. In 1988, he took the Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) from Cambridge University. Also, in 1988, he completed a course of training at the Inns of Court School of Law in London and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, as a Barrister of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. He is also called to the Bar in Barbados and in Jamaica. Dr Anderson joined the UWI Faculty of Law in 1988. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in law at the University of Western Australia whilst on Fellowship Leave there in 1996; in 1999 became Senior Lecturer in the University of the West Indies. Dr. Anderson served as the General Counsel of the Caribbean Community from 2003-2006; he was appointed Professor at the University of Guyana in 2003, and in 2006, Professor of Law in the University of the West Indies. In 2007 he became Executive Director of the Caribbean Law Institute Centre. Professor Anderson was sworn in as a Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice on 15 June 2010 when he also became founding chairman of the CCJ Academy for Law (then, called “CALCA”). He is currently the third most senior member of the Bench. Justice Anderson is the author of numerous articles in referred journals.

David R. Boyd is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment and an associate professor of law, policy, and sustainability at the University of British Columbia. He has a PhD in Resource Management and Environmental Studies from UBC, a law degree from the University of Toronto, and a business degree from the University of Alberta. He served as the executive director of Ecojustice, argued cases at the Supreme Court of Canada, and worked as a special advisor on sustainability for Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. He has advised many governments on environmental, constitutional, and human rights policy and co-chaired Vancouver’s effort to become the world’s greenest city by 2020. Boyd is also the author of ten books and over 100 reports and articles on environmental law and policy, human rights, and constitutional law. His books include The Rights of Nature (ECW Press, 2017), The Optimistic Environmentalist (ECW Press, 2015), The Right to a Healthy Environment (UBC Press, 2012) and The Environmental Rights Revolution (UBC Press, 2011).

Digitial and Artificial Intelligence Interventions for Enhancing the Work of Judiciaries

Justice Jacqueline Louella Graham is a Judge, newly appointed, in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Before her appointment, she was the Registrar and Chief Marshal of the Caribbean Court of Justice. She also held the position of Legal Assistant to the Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and was Registrar of the Court of Appeal of Guyana. She was Assistant Lecturer at the University of Guyana and worked in the field of business, banking and finance and in revenue law following academic achievements in the Bachelor of Science (BSc) Distinction in Management Studies (1992) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) Distinction in Law (2007) from the University of Guyana where she earned the Chancellor’s Medal. Mrs Graham also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with specialization in Finance from the University of Manchester, UK (2004). She attended the Hugh Wooding Law School where she received top honours for her Legal Education Certificate and her performance in the areas of Legal Drafting and Civil Procedure and Practice. She is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute in Canada and the National Centre for States Courts in the United States of America.

Fredric I. Lederer is Chancellor Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Legal & Court Technology (CLCT) at William & Mary Law School. Professor Lederer received a B.S. from what is now NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia. He was a Fulbright-Hayes Research Scholar at the Max Planck Institut fur auslandisches und internationales Strafrecht, in Freiburg, Germany. Professor Lederer’s areas of specialization include the legal impact of the Artificial Intelligence ecosystem, legal technology, evidence, technology-augmented trial practice, electronic discovery and data seizures, criminal procedure, military law, and legal skills. He is the author or co-author of twelve books, numerous articles, and two law related education television series. He is a former prosecutor, defense attorney, trial judge, and law reform expert. As Founder and Director of CLCT, Professor Lederer is responsible for the McGlothlin Courtroom, the world’s most technologically advanced trial and appellate courtroom, and the Court Affiliates, an organization of federal, state, and foreign courts. With the CLCT staff, Professor Lederer conducts legal and empirical courtroom technology research and provides courtroom and hearing room design consulting to courts and agencies throughout the world.  

Mr. Bevil Wooding is the Executive Director of Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions and one of the region’s leading technology innovators. He has pioneered the development of solutions for modernizing courts and court processes and is actively engaged in supporting jurisdictions across the region in rapidly transitioning to online services. In 2011 he was appointed by ICANN,  the international organization responsible to Internet domain names, as one of only seven people worldwide to hold “keys to the Internet” as a recovery-key shareholder. He serves as an advisor to several Caribbean governments and regional institutions, including the CARICOM Secretariat, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). He also serves in a leadership capacity in several international non-profit organization, including the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN); Congress WBN, a UK registered global, faith-based charity; and the Caribbean Network Operators Group, CaribNOG.

Gender Justice

Justice Mauritsz de Kort is the President of the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba having been appointed to the office on 1 January 2022. Born in Oranjestad, Aruba and after completing his pre-university education at Colegio Arubano in his native Aruba, Justice De Kort went to Business School in Arnhem in The Netherlands. Justice De Kort continued his studies at the University of Leiden where he studied laws. Upon completing that course of study, Justice De Kort embarked upon an intercollegiate postgraduate programme in laws at the University of London (LSE, UCL, King’s College & SOAS).  Admitted to the Bar in 2000, De Kort worked as a lawyer with firms in Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten. During this time, he served as a founding member of the Bishop Ellis Foundation for the Poor and Needy on Sint Maarten. In 2007, he commenced the intensive four-year judicial training programme (‘Rechterlijk ambtenaar in opleiding’ (Raio)) and was appointed as a Judge of the Joint Court of Justice in 2011 and assigned to Curaçao. He later took up assignment in Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius in 2015, where he presided over criminal, civil, family and bankruptcy cases. He also served as Press Judge for a number of years.  Justice De Kort was appointed as Vice-President of the Joint Court of Justice of the branches of Curaçao and Bonaire on 1 April 2017 and served in that post until his elevation to the Presidency. Consonant with his deep passion for art and history, Justice De Kort served on the Board of the Curaçao Museum up to 2014 and since shortly is part of the board of the Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds Caribisch Gebied. 

Mary Pat Gunderson was appointed in 2011 District Court Judge in Polk County, Iowa, where she presided over both criminal and civil jury and bench trials.  Judge Gunderson served as Chair of the District’s Law Clerk Hiring Committee and Co-Chair of the Polk County Bench Bar Committee. She has also held positions on both the Board of Directors for the Polk County Volunteer Lawyers Project and the Iowa Supreme Court Task Force on Family Law.  In recognition of her courageous scholarship in support of women in the legal profession, the Iowa Association of Women Attorneys awarded Judge Gunderson the 2020 Arabella Mansfield Award. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Gunderson served as a Polk County Magistrate from 2005-2011.  From 1989-1996, she was an Assistant Polk County Attorney, where she prosecuted over 25 felony jury trials including kidnapping and first-degree murder. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1988. Upon retiring in 2017, Judge Gunderson co-founded the Iowa Center for Children’s Justice.  She currently splits her time between Des Moines, Iowa, and Ketchum, Idaho.  The presentation she will give draws from her 2018 publication in the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law and subsequent legal developments.  Since the article’s publication, she has presented her research on implicit gender bias in the judiciary to numerous organizations, including the Iowa Supreme Court, the Utah Supreme Court, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Washington D.C. Bar Association.

Tonni Brodber is the Representative of the UN Women Multi-Country Office- Caribbean. Prior to her appointment in August 2020, Ms. Brodber served as Deputy Representative from 2015 -2020 with the MCO Caribbean. Before this Ms Brodber was the Team Leader for the Advancing Gender Justice in the Pacific programme with the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office. Ms Brodber served as the Gender Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa, as well as briefly with the UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office and established what is now the UN Women Country Office in Haiti. Ms. Brodber’s work experience also includes lecturing in International Relations and Development Studies at Yanshan University in China, and directing and co-producing, a film on Haiti. Ms. Brodber received her first degree from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus and has post graduate degrees in Development Studies and Business Administration from the London School of Economics and ESADE Business School in Barcelona. Ms. Brodber is raising two sons with her husband.

Breakout Sessions

Emerging Issues in Family Law

The Worshipful Maxanne J. Anderson JP was appointed as Bermuda’s first female Senior Magistrate & Coroner in July 2022. She is also Chairman of the Family Courts of Bermuda having been appointed to this prestigious position in July 2016.  Magistrate Anderson is the Magistrate responsible for the Drug Treatment Court, DUI Treatment Court and the Mental Health Treatment Court. In 1993 she obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Spelman College, Atlanta majoring in Philosophy with a Minor in Economics.  In 1995 she acquired her Law Degree at the University of Kent at Canterbury, was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1997 and to the Bermuda Bar in 1999. After 8 years in private practice specializing in Reinsurance Litigation, Insolvency and Family Law, Magistrate Anderson transitioned to the Civil Service as Senior Legal Counsel to the Ministry of Economic Development for the Bermuda Government. In 2006, with a hunger and thirst to serve her community, Magistrate Anderson was sworn in as an Acting Magistrate & Coroner.  In this capacity she oversaw a number of Courts namely – Family, Juvenile, Traffic, Civil and Criminal Courts, as well as Drug Treatment Court, Mental Health Treatment Court and Coroner’s Inquest matters to name a few. She is also Chairman of the Family Courts of Bermuda having been appointed to this prestigious position in July 2016.  Magistrate Anderson is the Magistrate responsible for the Drug Treatment Court, DUI Treatment Court and the Mental Health Treatment Court.

Kimberly Lasten started working at the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao and St. Martin and of Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius in 2015 as a judge trainee after working as a lawyer for almost 8 years. In 2019 Kimberly was appointed, as youngest member, judge at the Joint Court of Justice and started working in de Court of First Instance in the Civil Law section. Kimberly has gained experience in Family law working as a lawyer, and currently (since 2019) as Family Law judge in the Family Law division of the Civil Law section

Justice Juan Wolffe was appointed as Magistrate in 2005,  as Senior Magistrate in October 2014 appointed Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda in April 2022. Born in Bermuda in 1965, he was called to both the Bar of England and Wales (Gray’s Inn) and the Bermuda Bar in 1994. After attending The Berkeley Institute and The Bermuda College he served as a police constable in the Bermuda Police Service between 1983 and 1986. Thereafter, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from York University (Canada) in 1989, a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) (Hons.) from the University of Kent (Canterbury, United Kingdom) in 1992, and, he received further legal education at the Inns of Court School of Law. Prior to his appointment as Magistrate he served as Litigation Counsel in a private law firm specializing in Civil, Personal Injury, Matrimonial and Criminal litigation in all courts of Bermuda (1994 – 2000). From 2000 to 2005 he worked in the Department of Public Prosecutions, starting as a Crown Counsel and elevating to the positions of Senior Crown Counsel and Principal Crown Counsel. In 2007 he served as Acting Director of Public Prosecutions. While at the Department of Public Prosecutions he was responsible for criminal litigation in all the courts of Bermuda; was the supervisor of the Court Administration Team; rendered legal advice to various government departments; trained and mentored junior Crown Counsels and pupils; and, conducted numerous seminars and presentations for government and non-government groups.

Forced Labour, Human Trafficking, and Modern Forms of Slavery

Madam Justice Yonette Cummings began her legal career in 1988 as a State Counsel within the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She served in various positions including that of acting Director of Public Prosecutions until her elevation to the Supreme Court as a Puisne Judge in 2000. After valuable contribution to the High Court, Justice Cummings was further elevated to the Court of Appeal in January 2008. In December 2015, Her Honour was appointed to act as Chief Justice of the Judiciary of Guyana and in March, 2017 as acting Chancellor of the Judiciary and currently serves in the latter position. Justice Cummings is a graduate of the University of London, the University of the West Indies and Hugh Wooding Law School. Madam Justice Yonette Cummings is also the recipient of two National Awards for her dedication and outstanding contribution to the legal field in Guyana. Justice Yonette Cummings is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and a member of a number of professional associations. Her Honour has special interest in matters affecting children, women and the vulnerable members of society.

Vasheist V Kokaram JA is a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago. He previously served as a Judge of the High Court from 2009 to 2020. Prior to his appointment to the bench he was a partner in the law firm MG Daly and Partners specialising in industrial relations, public law, international trade and mediation. He was also a community mediator appointed under the Community Mediation Act from 1998 to 2005. He served as a temporary High Court judge in 2006 on a “backlog reduction” project in which he began the use of judicial mediation. Justice Kokaram was the Chair of the Court Annexed Mediation Pilot Project in 2010 and currently a member on the ADR Implementation Committee in the Supreme Court, Trinidad and Tobago. He is a Certified Judicial Trainer – UCL Judicial Institute. He has conducted JSC sensitisation and training sessions for Registrars and Judges. He is also a judicial settlement officer from 2009 to date conducting Judicial Settlement Conferences (JSC) in commercial, family and appellate matters. Justice Kokaram was the Chairman of the Mediation Board of Trinidad and Tobago (MBTT) 2010 to 2018. As Chairman he advocated the use and application of mediation as a means of developing a more peaceful and productive society. He led several public educational campaigns on mediation from 2010 to 2018 at the MBTT, which convened several national Annual Mediation Symposia and produced publications on mediation and certification.

Dr. Jason Haynes is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Birmingham. He previously served as Deputy Dean (Graduate Studies & Research) at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, where he lectured in the fields of Caribbean Integration Law, Administrative Law, Sports Law, and International Investment Law. Prior to this, Dr. Haynes previously lectured at the UWI, Mona Campus, Durham University, and Arden University, and held the positions of Senior Legal Officer at the British High Commission (Barbados), and Judicial Research Intern at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) in St Lucia. He was also a member of the ECSC Sentencing Advisory Committee that drafted sentencing guidelines for the nine Eastern Caribbean jurisdictions. Dr. Haynes is an Attorney-at-law, admitted to practice in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados, and has served as a Legal Associate at the Chambers of Baptiste and Co Inc. He holds a PhD in Law from Durham University (as a Commonwealth Scholar); an LLM with Distinction from the University of Nottingham (as a Chevening Scholar). and an LLB with First Class Honours from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (as an SVG National Scholar). He is the author of the books, Caribbean Anti-Trafficking Law and Practice (Hart, Oxford, 2019) and Commonwealth Caribbean Sports Law (co-authored with J. Tyrone Marcus) (Routledge, London, 2018).

Criminal Trials Without Juries

Madam Justice Sonya Young is British born and a national of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize.  She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and acquired her Certificate of Legal Education in 1996.  She also holds a post graduate certificate in Competition Law from the University of the West Indies.  She is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and a trainer in the judicial ethics program developed by the Global Judicial Integrity Network.  She is also the Chairman of the Belize Judicial Education Institute. Before her appointment in her current position, as Judge of the Supreme Court of Belize, she was the Chief Magistrate in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines where she presided over the Serious Offences Court for six years.  As a Supreme Court Judge she now deals mainly with civil matters. She has been Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Registrar in Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands.  In Montserrat Justice Young helped to restore the Registry from ground zero after it was devastated by persistent volcanic eruptions.  She has also acted as Chief Registrar of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.  Justice Young has a special interest in the empowerment and mentorship of girls and young women and has been a reappointed member of the Constitution Committee of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.  She is a wife and the mother of a twenty two year old son. 

Justice Carla Brown-Antoine is a Judge of the High Court of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. She ascended to the bench in 2009 after a lengthy career in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). She attended St Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain where she was awarded a National Scholarship in 1983. She studied law at the University of the West Indies, graduating with her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Upper Second Class Honours) in 1987, and at the Hugh Wooding Law School where she received her Legal Education Certificate in 1989. She joined the Office of the DPP in 1989, beginning as a State Counsel 1 and rising to the position of Acting DPP in 2009. She was also Course Director for Criminal Procedure and Practice at the Hugh Wooding Law School during 2007 – 2008 and an Associate Tutor for second year students in Trial Advocacy from 2010 to 2019. She has delivered lectures and conducted training at workshops held by the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and other national bodies. She is also a certified mediator since 2012. Justice Brown-Antoine is a member of the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Trinidad and Tobago and a member of the Board of the Judicial Education Institute of Trinidad and Tobago (JEITT). Justice Brown-Antoine is the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Women Judges (TTAWJ), the Secretary of the Caribbean Association of Women Judges (CAWJ) and a member of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). 

Justice Colin Williams was appointed to the Office of High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) in March 2021. He is assigned to Antigua and Barbuda where he presides over judge-alone trials for persons charged with a range of offences. Prior to joining the bench of the ECSC, Justice Williams served as a judge with the Supreme Court of Belize and presided over many judge-alone trials of persons charged for the offences of murder and attempted murder. Justice Williams is a former Director of Public Prosecutions in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an office that he held for almost fourteen years. Justice Williams has done presentations to various fora on topics relating to judge-alone trials including “Challenges With Judge Alone (trier of fact) Trials”, at a seminar for regional judicial officers organized by the Judicial Education Institute of Trinidad and Tobago and the British High Commission; and “A Case for Judge Alone Trials – Trial by Peer versus Trial by Professional” at the law enforcement seminar Applying Lawful Responses to Intercepting Gangsters Hustlers and Traffickers (ALRIGHT) organized the National Prosecution Service/Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Privacy and Data Protection in the Courts

The Honourable Mr. Justice Bryan Patrick St. George Sykes, OJ, CD, is an outstanding Jamaican Jurist and public servant who has rendered committed and dedicated service to the Justice system for over thirty years. Justice Sykes is a graduate of the University of the West Indies (1984), where he pursued his law degree and Certificate of Legal Education (1986). He also holds a Master of Law Degree from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff. He began practicing in 1986 and has served the legal system as Clerk of Courts, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions and Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. On January 7, 2005, he was appointed as Pusine Judge of the Supreme Court, after acting for three years as same. The Honourable Mr. Justice Sykes was on January 7, 2005, appointed as a Puisne Judge in the Supreme Court. He was sworn in as the 8th Chief Justice of Jamaica since Independence, on March 1, 2018. He is married to Dr. Annette Crawford Sykes and together they have five children.

Justice Patrick Brooks has been, since December 2020, the President of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, having previously served as a judge in that court for over eight years, and prior to that as a Puisne Judge in the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica.  Before being elevated to the Supreme Court bench in September 2002, Justice Brooks had a wide experience as a practising attorney-at-law. He was called to the Bar in 1979 and, between 1979 and 1983, was employed by the Government of Jamaica in various prosecutorial capacities leading to being appointed as Crown Counsel in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Justice Brooks then joined the corporate world and between December 1983 – March 1986 was the legal officer of the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, the sole electricity utility company in Jamaica.  In 1986 Justice Brooks went into private practice as an associate in the Kingston law firm of Nunes Scholefield DeLeon & Co. He was a partner of the firm from 1987-2002.  

Roëlla Pourier earned a bachelor’s degree in Fiscal Economics and a master’s degree in Fiscal Law at the Tilburg University in The Netherlands. She started her career on Bonaire at the Tax office as a deputy tax inspector with focus on corporate tax.  Afterwards she joined the Cabinet of the Governor of Bonaire as chief of staff. She was appointed as an advisor to the Governor during the process of the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles which gave rise to a renewed structure within the Kingdom of the Netherlands as of October 10th 2010.  As chief of staff she has advised the Governor (who is appointed by Royal decree) on topics ranging from safety and Justice to good governance, legislation and public finance.  In 2015 Roëlla made the switch to the private sector as a consultant on matters regarding new legislation and the implementation thereof for the islands of Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba (also known as the BES-islands). Her professional interests focus on Constitutional rights (in particular the right to privacy), administrative Law and Good governance. She is currently working fulltime for the Data protection Authority for the BES-islands which supervises the compliance with the Privacy Act for the BES Islands. 

Community Law Obligations and Domestic Law

The Honourable Mr. Justice Denys Barrow, citizen of Belize, is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Laws and received a Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School. He was admitted to the practice of law in Belize in 1977 and embarked on a career in private practice. In 1990, Mr. Justice Barrow was elevated to Senior Counsel and went on to start his own law firm “Barrow and Company”. Mr. Justice Barrow’s judicial career included service as High Court Judge in St. Lucia, Grenada, Belize and the British Virgin Islands between 2001 and 2005, Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court from 2005 to 2008 and Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Belize from 2010 to 2012. For nine years beginning in 2005 he served annually in Geneva, Switzerland as a member and then rapporteur of the International Labour Organisation’s Committee of Experts responsible for monitoring the application of international conventions on labour and human rights law. Members of the Committee are selected from across the world from among persons who have distinguished themselves as judges and professors of law. In 2007, Mr. Justice Barrow was selected by the Belize Bar Association for its prestigious Custos Justitiae Award for excellence in the practice of law. In 2012, he was awarded the insignia for Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his distinguished service to Belize and the field of law. The Honourable Mr. Justice Denys Barrow was appointed Judge of the CCJ on June 1, 2017.

The Honourable Mr Justice Wit was born on 24 December 1952 in Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands. He studied law from 1971 to 1977 at the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) of Amsterdam, from which he took the degree of Meester in de Rechten (Master of Laws) with honours. After completing his military service (1976-1978) as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Dutch Navy, he was admitted in March 1978 as a Judicial Trainee at the Studiecentrum Rechtspleging (Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary) in Zutphen, the Netherlands, where he remained enrolled until 1984. During this period, he held the posts of Griffier (Law Clerk) in the Rotterdam District Court, Rotterdam, (1978-1980) and plaatsvervangend Officier van Justitie (Deputy Prosecutor) at the Amsterdam District Court (1980-1982) and worked as an advocaat (attorney-at-law) with the Law Firm of Van Doorne & Sjollema in Rotterdam (1982-1984). Resident in Curaçao since 1986, from then to 2005, Mr Justice Wit presided over or sat in the Court of Appeal, but mainly presided in the Courts of First Instance over a wide range of cases, involving: private law (contract, tort, property, succession), commercial and admiralty law, insurance, bankruptcy and (cross border) insolvency, company law and intellectual property, criminal law (serious crime, government corruption, international fraud, money laundering), military law, administrative law, constitutional law and international human rights law. Mr Justice Jacob Wit took the Oath of Office as a Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) at The President’s House, Port of Spain, on Wednesday 1 June 2005. In November 2010, Mr Justice Wit was appointed and sworn in as the President of the Constitutional Court of St. Maarten, a part-time function. He is the lone Civil Law Judge on the CCJ Bench.

Jan Yves Remy is Director of the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services (SRC) at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados where she lectures in the SRC’s flagship Masters in International Trade Policy Programme and conducts research on trade law, WTO reform, gender and trade, dispute settlement regimes, regional integration, climate change and e-commerce Her doctoral thesis focused on the role of the Caribbean Court of Justice in promoting Caribbean regional integration. She is also the WTO Chair holder for the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus); has been nominated as a panelist on two WTO disputes; and has been included on the list of arbitrators under a number of FTA dispute settlement mechanisms. Jan Yves holds a Ph.D. in International Law (summa cum laude) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva, Switzerland), an LL.M (Hons) in Commercial and International Law from the University of Cambridge (UK) and an LL.B. (Hons) from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (Barbados). Prior to joining the SRC, Jan Yves worked for five years as a Senior Trade Associate at the offices of Sidley Austin LLP in Geneva and Washington D.C. In the previous six years, Jan Yves served as a Legal Officer at the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO, where she assisted Members of the Appellate Body in their disposition of appeals in trade disputes.

Performance Standards for Courts

Sir Patterson Cheltenham, K.A., Chief Justice of Barbados, has over forty-two years’ experience as a legal practitioner. He received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies in 1975.  He attended University College London, graduating in 1976 with a Master of Laws degree in Taxation and Corporate Law. Thereafter, he attended the Hugh Wooding Law School.  He earned his Legal Education Certificate and was admitted to practise in Barbados in 1978.  He was also admitted to practise in St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Antigua and St Kitts & Nevis. For well over three decades, Sir Patterson served as one of the principals of a leading law office in Barbados, Charlton Chambers.  He has represented both corporate and private clients before several tribunals, the High Court, Court of Appeal, Privy Council and Caribbean Court of Justice.  An eminent practitioner in the areas of insurance and personal injury law, he also earned a sterling reputation for his proficiency in other areas such as public law, employment-related claims, takeovers and mergers. Although he established himself as a formidable civil litigator, Sir Patterson consistently pursued out-of-court negotiations and other forms of non-litigious dispute resolution.  His ability to adapt to emerging alternatives to dispute resolution led to him becoming an Accredited Mediator and a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), as well as the Education Co-ordinator of CIArb (Caribbean Branch) in June, 2016. 

Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron of St. Kitts-Nevis graduated from Cambridge University in 1966 with M.A; LL.B. He was in private practice throughout the Leeward Islands. In 1982 he was appointed as a Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and in 1999, was appointed Chief Justice. During his tenure he engaged in many Judicial Reform Programs. In 2004 Sir Dennis was appointed a Judge of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He was elected President of the Tribunal from 2007 to 2011. Sir Dennis has been President of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (CJEI) since 2000. In 2004, he was appointed an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple and holds the first Yogis & Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law at Dalhousie University. He was knighted in 2000 and was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 2004. In September 2011, The Right Honourable Sir Dennis Byron was appointed President of the Caribbean Court of Justice and demitted office in July 2018. During his tenure at the CCJ led to the transformation of various sectors of the Court and in Caribbean jurisprudence. Sir Dennis is the Founding Member and Special Envoy, Judicial Outreach and Capacity Building for the Caribbean-based, special-purpose, non-profit agency the Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions (formerly “APEX”),  that is committed to delivering technology-based solutions and services to support court ecosystems.

Justice Dale Staple  is a judicial officer in Jamaica and dedicated public servant. He is a proud past student of St. Jago High School in Jamaica and a graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley Law School. He was called to the bar in November of 2006 and practiced extensively at the private bar in both criminal and civil litigation at all levels of the judicial system in Jamaica for 7 years. He ascended to the bench as a Resident Magistrate (now Judge of the Parish Court) on the 4thFebruary 2014. In April of 2018, he was appointed to Act as Senior Judge of the Parish Court for Clarendon and was appointed to that post in January of 2020. In April of 2022 he was appointed to Act as Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica. He is presently acting in that capacity. In his time as a judicial officer, Mr. Staple has served on several committees and boards including the inaugural Supreme Court Bench Book editorial committee, the Balanced Scorecard Champions Committee (the strategic planning committee for the Judiciary of Jamaica), the implementation committee for Differentiated Case Management in the Parish Courts, the Disaster Risk Management Act Training Committee for the Parish Courts. Mr. Staple is also the current President of the Parish Court Judges Association since November of 2018 having previous served as Vice President from August of 2015.