Caribbean judge sitting with Judicial Committee of the Privy Council this week

Caribbean judge sitting with Judicial Committee of the Privy Council this week

A senior Caribbean judge has begun taking part in hearings before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC).

Dame Janice M. Pereira, the former chief justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, was invited to sit with the JCPC by Lord Reed – which was made possible by her appointment to the Privy Council by the King in August.

She arrived in London yesterday and will take part in hearings before the JCPC all week.

Welcoming her to her first appeal hearing at the JCPC, Lord Hodge said: “It is a matter of celebration that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has revived the practice of having among its membership a distinguished judge from one of its jurisdictions.

“The Board warmly welcomes Dame Janice as one of our number and looks forward to working with her this week and in the future.”

Dame Janice recently retired from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, where she was the first woman to serve as chief justice. In May 2013, she was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Born in the British Virgin Islands, Dame Janice attended the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus where she received her LLB (honours), and was called to the Bar in 1981.

Dame Janice was called to the Bench as an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple on 26 March 2018, and was later a High Court judge, before being appointed as a Justice of Appeal in 2009.

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