Margaret Ramsay-Hale will take over the reins of the judiciary as Cayman’s new chief justice, effective 26 Oct., Governor Martyn Roper has announced.
She will be succeeding Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, who is retiring after having served on the judicial bench in Cayman since 1993 and as chief justice since June 1998.
He replaced former Chief Justice George Elliot Harre, who passed away in France in October last year, at the age of 93.
The Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC), Roper said in the statement, recently undertook a formal recruitment exercise for the post of chief justice, at the end of which Ramsay-Hale was selected.
Once sworn in, Ramsay-Hale will become the first female chief justice in the Cayman Islands. She is no stranger to firsts as Ramsay-Hale was the first female puisne judge and the first female chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Roper, in the Wednesday afternoon statement, said he was “delighted” to announce Ramsay-Hale’s appointment.
“Justice Ramsay-Hale, who is Caymanian, brings extensive legal knowledge and significant leadership and management experience, including as a former Chief Justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Justice Ramsay-Hale impressed the JLSC with her vision, passion and commitment to strengthening our judicial system and rule of law in line with the Cayman Constitution,” Roper said in his statement.
Erik Bodden, president of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association, welcomed the announcement of Ramsay-Hale’s appointment.
“We look forward to formally welcoming Justice Ramsay-Hale, and acknowledging the significant contributions and many years of service of the Honourable Chief Justice Sir Anthony Smellie KC on his retirement in October,” Bodden said in an emailed comment to the Compass.
‘A legacy to build on’
Smellie, in his last speech as chief justice in January at the opening of the Grand Court, reflected on how far the judiciary had come, pointing out that back in 1989, there were three judicial personnel in the court – a chief justice, a magistrate and a clerk of the court – and there are 39 today, including a panel of 18 acting judges and magistrates.
Roper said Ramsay-Hale will build on the successful legacy of the outgoing chief justice “who has provided strong leadership and services to law and justice in the Cayman Islands and the wider Caribbean over the last 30 years as a judge, with nearly 25 years as Chief Justice”.
He expressed gratitude to Smellie for his long years of dedicated service, “which is greatly appreciated by the community”, adding that it was in recognition of his outstanding contribution that the chief justice was awarded a knighthood in Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours.
“It is a signal of strong confidence in the Judiciary in the Cayman Islands that the JLSC recommended an appointment from the bench in Cayman. A high quality and fully independent judiciary is one of [the] major strengths of our jurisdiction supporting the rule of law and our prosperity,” Roper said.
Smellie has been at the centre of a number of high profile cases over his career, the most recent being his ruling in the Chantelle Day/Vickie Bodden Bush case, in which he changed the definition of marriage in the the Marriage Law, legalising same-sex marriage.
That ruling was later appealed and overturned.
The case eventually went to the Privy Council which upheld the Court of Appeal decision.
About Ramsay-Hale
As well as being chief justice in Turks and Caicos, she was also the sole presiding judge in the civil and commercial divisions of the Turks and Caicos Court and presides in the criminal and matrimonial/family divisions.
Prior to being appointed chief justice, she was a puisne judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands from 2011-2014.
She served as chief magistrate in Cayman for three years and as a magistrate for 10 years.
She also sat in Jamaica as a resident magistrate and a family court judge, both for two years.
The statement pointed out that Ramsay-Hale served ad hoc as a judge in the Cayman Islands in 2006 and was appointed to the Cayman Islands Panel of Acting Grand Court Judges in 2013.
Before beginning her judicial career, she practised privately and was appointed Crown counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Jamaica in 1994.
She is a certified mediator and was called to the Bar in 1991.
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