Special Court Sitting – ANGUILLA CIRCUIT HONOURS APPOINTMENT OF JUSTICE MATHURIN AS JUDGE

The Anguilla Circuit of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court held a Special Sitting on Thursday, April 11, in honour of the appointment of Her Ladyship The Hon. Justice Cheryl Mathurin as High Court Judge.

Justice Mathurin’s appointment as a Judge came almost eight months after her assignment to the Anguilla Circuit as Acting Judge in September 2012 at the commencement of the new Law Year. Prior to that, she served as a Master of the Court for some ten years.

During the Special Sitting, Justice Mathurin was accompanied on the Bench by Appeal Court Judge, Justice Don Mitchell, CBE, QC, of Anguilla, who chaired the ceremony, and Justice Birnie Stephenson who is based in the Dominica Circuit.

The agenda included addresses by Mr. Ivor Greene, Acting Attorney General; Ms. Yvette Wallace, President of the Anguilla Bar Association and Mrs. Josephine Gumbs Connor, Vice President; Mr. John Benjamin QC; Mrs. Joyce Kentish-Egan; Mr. Thomas Astaphan; Ms. Palmavon Webster; Mr. Kenneth Porter of Keithley Lake & Associates;Mr.Keithly Benjamin, Magistrate; Ms.Navine Fleming; Mrs.Keesha Carty; and Justice Birnie Stephenson.

Governor’s Office, Government Officials and Judge Mathurin’s family

Acting Attorney General Ivor Greene and other Attorneys. (Justice Mathurin’s parents and relatives in background)

Justice Mathurin (seated 3rd from left) with Judicial and Bar representatives

Bar President Yvette Wallace addressing bench

Madam Justice Cheryl Mathurin, Appeal Justice Don Mitchell and Justice Bernie Stephenson

All of the speakers commended the newly-appointed High Court Judge on her elevation, praised her for her work as Master and Acting Judge; and pledged to support her on the Bench.

In his brief comments, Justice Mitchell said that Justice Mathurin was one of the few graduates and fellows of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institution. He stated that she was well-positioned, having studied all aspects of mediation, to assist Counsel and parties in trying to arrive at their own resolution of their disputes. He added that he was certain that – like Justice Blenman, another graduate – Justice Mathurin would continue to use her powers to persuade persons to settle their differences through mediation.

Responding, Justice Mathurin said that her job as a Master of the Supreme Court had given her many rich experiences – and the opportunity not only to meet and work with nearly every attorney in the jurisdiction, but the chance to see and appreciate the beauty of the Caribbean islands.

“Over the years, I have received encouragement, assistance and support from many who have never wavered in their belief that I could be of service as a Judge,” she went on. “I would like to thank them and express my sincere appreciation for their confidence in me; and I assure them, as well as the legal fraternity here, that I will not allow that confidence to be misplaced.

“It has always been my goal to be a Judge, and I will seek to maintain every sound tradition espoused by my predecessors and to support every innovation of the law which seeks to benefit the situation of the people of the Caribbean region.

“I wish to urge the Bar to continue to work with the Court in achieving the objectives of having disputes resolved in the quickest, least painful and least expensive way possible. I applaud the Bar’s commitments to the alternative dispute resolution procedures, and would invite more of you, at least a lot of you, to attend the mediation training which is slated for later this year.”

Justice Mathurinurged the younger attorneys to keep up-to-date with, and read, a lot of cases, and also to devote some of their time to providing legal aid and other assistance to the less fortunate members of the society. “Not only will it add to your experience as attorneys; it would also enhance the image of the Bar as caring and compassionate which it already is,” she said. “I would like to see the younger attorneys, despite the challenge, participate in the criminal process. They can be of assistance. They did not attend university or law school, and were not trained in all these areas, just to sit down on them. They have to utilise them as soon as possible and they will be better off for it.”

She thanked all the speakers for their kind remarks, and all who attended the Special Sitting of the Court in her honour.

Justice Mathurin was born in England of Caribbean parents. She attended the University of the West Indies from 1981-1984 and obtained the LL.B degree; the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad & Tobago where she awarded the Legal Education Certificate; and in 1986 was called to the Bar in St. Lucia.

Her career includes the following –1986-1987: Private Practice, St. Lucia; 1987-1991: CIBC, Canada; 1991-1992: Private Practice, St. Lucia; 1992-1998: First & Second District Courts, St. Lucia; 1998-2002: Attorney General’s Chambers, St. Lucia; 2002: Master, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court followed by Acting judge from September 2012 and now the appointment of Judge.