Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: Jamaican-born jurist Winston Anderson has been appointed as a president of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). This appointment has been done by the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell.
PM Mitchell who is also currently serving as the chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), appointed Winston Anderson based on an agreement from 2001. Under this agreement, the Caribbean Court of Justice was set to replace the London-based Privy Council and made the CCJ as the highest and final court for the region.
Further, this agreement states that the functions of the President of the Court “shall be performed by the Judge of the Court. According to the agreement, the judge is the most senior which is effective from the date of this appointment.
It states that if the President of the Court is unavailable, the most senior judge will take on the President’s duties. This senior judge is chosen based on who has been in the position the longest. The Chairman of the Conference will officially appoint this senior judge with a letter.
It is to be noted that the, CCJ President, Justice Adrian Saunders will go be on leave until 16 September, 2024.
The CCJ announced that during his absence, Justice Anderson will take over his duties because he has been a judge since June 2010, making him the most senior judge in the Court.
Justice Anderson was born in 1960 in Saint Ann’s Bay, Saint Ann, and was raised in a local village in Jamaica. After completing his education, he served as a faculty of law and was appointed General Counsel of the Caribbean Community in 2003.
He is the father of three adult children Anessa, Aleisha, and Anquan. And now he holds the Barbadian nationality in addition to his native Jamaican nationality.
