Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, His Lordship the Honourable Hugh Rawlins, is pictured here at a Special Sitting of the Court of Appeal, which was held in his honour on Monday, April 16. His Lordship will retire from service effective July 31, 2012.

The sitting was presided over by Justice Edward Alexander Bannister Q.C. Government officials in attendance at yesterday’s sitting were His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Ingrid Moses, Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. D. Orlando Smith, OBE, Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour, Dr. the Hon. Kedrick Pickering, Minister for Education and Culture, Hon. Myron W. Walwyn, Attorney General, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Malcom, Deputy Governor Mrs. V. Inez Archibald. Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE was also in attendance.

Attorney General, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Malcolm; Members of the Inner Bar, Dr. J.S. Archibald QC, Messrs. Paul Webster, QC, Lewis Hunte, QC, Sydney Bennett, QC and Mrs. Dancia Penn, QC; representing the Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms. Tiffany Scatliffe; President of the BVI Bar Association, Ms. Keisha Durham; Members of the Utter Bar, Messrs. Paul Dennis and Mr. Jack Husbands; Hon. Justice of Appeal Madam Janice Pereira and Acting High Court Judge, Justice Kelvin John, all gave remarks at the sitting reflecting on the work of Chief Justice Rawlins and the impact he has had on the ECSC.

Attorney General, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Malcolm in his remarks reflected on his relationship with the Honourable Chief Justice. “I have not practiced in this jurisdiction before His Lordship Chief Justice for any period of time however, I do have a history with him dating back many years.

I was his student at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus where he taught me administrative law. Having subsequently taught other subjects in the faculty of law, I came to realise how good the guidance was that I had and the volume of work he must have put in to teaching the subject. I have since had a long personal relationship with him and I can attest that his commitment to work, his commitment to service and also his unselfish guidance are qualities that I have held dear and will hold dear forever.”

Justice of Appeal Madam Janice Pereira in her remarks said, “I have been working with you on this court since January of 2009 and each occasion that we sit, the Chief Justice is a person no matter how simple the task, always will take time to enquire of your family, your well being and whether there is anything that he can do to assist. I think that shows the warmth and the deep respect of the person who has the greatest respect for his colleagues and workers and for that I will always be exceedingly grateful.”

The Chief Justice in his response said, “I would like to welcome everyone but particularly the distinguished persons who are sitting in the gallery. It speaks volumes that you should be here this morning.” He thanked everyone for the special sitting and expressed that he will hold this occasion and many others dear.

Chief Justice Rawlins reflected on the work of the Court of Appeal and the work of the Justices of Appeal and Judges that sat on that court with him. He also spoke about a number of initiatives that the court is working on namely the E-Filing project that will be piloted in the Virgin Islands.

Additionally, he also reflected fondly on the time he served in the Territory as a Master and a High Court Judge and the warmth of the people in that Territory. Chief Rawlins shared with the gathering reflections of the time he served in a band, which he was a member since age 14 until 25. He indicated his regret in not continuing to play music as during his retirement he would have enjoyed playing the organ at church fulltime, “which would have gratified my soul unendingly,” he said.

His Lordship concluded, “I think those are the light-hearted matters I want to end on, to remind everyone, to remind myself that within in the midst of the serious nature of life and in the midst of the circumstances around which, could be very unhappy, we need to remember the light heartedness, the humour because at the end of the day, we are simply birds of passage in the sands of time.

Sir Hugh Anthony Rawlins joined the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court as a Master in August 2000, having had a career of public service as a Graduate Secondary School Teacher, Assistant Secretary, Head of Department and Acting Permanent Secretary prior to becoming a legal practitioner. He was appointed as a High Court Judge in January 2002 and was elevated to the Office of Justice of the Court of Appeal in September 2005. He acted in the Office of Chief Justice of the Court from April 29, 2008 and was confirmed in the Office of Chief Justice by Her Majesty, the Queen, on May 30, 2008. On March 27, 2012, Her Majesty the Queen conferred the honour of knighthood upon His Lordship by the Award of the Order of the Knight Bachelor.