New Chief Justice of the EC Supreme Court appointed

Justice Hugh Anthony Rawlins has been appointed to the position of Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, with effect from April 29th, 2008.{{more}}

Justice Rawlins, a national of St. Kitts and Nevis, is currently a Court of Appeal Judge with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court – a position he has held since 2005. He takes over from outgoing Acting Chief Justice, Sir Brian Alleyne, S.C, of Dominica, who retired on 28th April, 2008.

Justice Rawlins was called to the Bar in his native St. Kitts/Nevis in 1985, having completed his LLB at the University of the West Indies and his Certificate in Legal Education at the Norman Manley Law School, Jamaica. He has since gained wide ranging experience from his appointment to a number of key positions. He served as Crown Counsel, acting Registrar and Additional Magistrate, before being appointed Solicitor General in St. Kitts/Nevis between 1989 and 1995. Justice Rawlins moved on to become a Lecturer in Law at the University of the West Indies between 1995 and 2000. Then in 2000 when the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court introduced the post of Master, Justice Rawlins took on that role for two years before being appointed a High Court Judge, a position he held for three years before his elevation to the Court of Appeal.

On Wednesday, the local bar association, in a release, congratulated Justice Rawlins and wished him a long and successful tenure in office.

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, headquartered in St. Lucia, is the Superior Court of Record for the nine OECS Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.