Judge’s retirement leaves gap on judicial commission

(CNS): Following Justice Richard Ground’s recent retirement from his post as Chief Justice of Bermuda, he has also tendered his resignation from the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Services Commission. According to government officials, Justice Ground left the commission back on 28 March and the governor needs to appoint a replacement from outside the Cayman Islands. Ground was one of two overseas members of the commission, which fulfils Section 105 (1)(d) of the 2009 Constitution that says that two of the commission members appointed by the governor must have either held or still hold high judicial office in a Commonwealth country other than Cayman.

Governor Duncan Taylor thanked Justice Ground for his commitment to the commission and is now considering potential candidates to replace him on the eight man board which deals with the recruitment, promotion and discipline of the local judiciary. The commission is chaired by Dan Scott and the current members include Dara Flowers-Burke, Sir John Chadwick, Edward Zacca, Sir David Simmons, Richard Coles and Charles Jennings

Cayman’s top judge recently pointed to the growth of commissions such as these in the region and said they posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary. At the UCCI annual conference in March Chief Justice Anthony Smellie said the trend towards extra-judicial bodies overseeing judges, such as Cayman’s Judicial Legal Services Commission (JLSC), had the potential to encroach on their autonomy and to have a negative influence on their impartiality.

For more information on the Judicial and Legal Services Commission visit www.judicialandlegalservicescommission.ky