By Lesroy W .Williams
Observer Reporter
lesroywilliams@thestkittsnevisobserver.com
(Basseterre, St. Kitts)—Judges, Masters and Registrars of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court through the Judicial Educational Institute gathered at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino for its Annual Judicial Conference, which began on July 23 and ends on July 25, under the theme “Enhancing Judicial Skills: Techniques of Judgment Writing and Judicial Communication”.
It was the first time that the conference was hosted in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the first official function of His Lordship, Chief Justice Hugh Rawlins, who was appointed to head the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court earlier this year. The Chief Justice hails from Nevis.
The aims and objectives of the conference were to train Judicial Officers to improve the quality of written and verbal judgments and improve the communication skills on and off the bench.
The opening ceremony of the Judicial Conference was attended by His Excellency Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Sam Condor, Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Curtis Martin, Speaker of the National Assembly, retired judges, lawyers, other dignitaries and invited guests.
Justice Francis Belle chaired the proceedings.
The Hon. Justice Ianthea Leigertwood-Octave, Chairperson of the Judicial Education Institute, (J.E.I.) in her opening remarks said that “the Annual Judicial Conference is by far the signal event of the J.E.I. and it is one of the most important activities in the courts calendar.” She highlighted that the J.E.I. is the training arm of the Judiciary and that it is charged with the development of training programs for all court personnel.
Prime Minister Douglas, who gave welcoming remarks, in quoting Latin, said that the “welfare of the people is the supreme law” and underscored the importance of judicial independence. He said that our region is becoming more and more a hotbed of criminal activity and anti-social behavior which made it more necessary and important for lawmakers to uphold and enforce the law.
Chief Justice Hugh Rawlins gave an overview of the conference highlighting some of the topics to be covered such as Effective Listening and Communication Choices. He said that the presenters at the conference were Professor Kelly Tait and Professor James C. Raymond.
Kelly Tait is a communication consultant and a speech communication instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and her Master’s degree in Speech Communication/Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has 14 years of university teaching experience and has designed and conducted a variety of communication skills workshops and seminars nationally and internationally.
James C. Raymond, President of the International Institute for Legal Writing and Reasoning, is Professor Emeritus, the University of Alabama, and former editor of College English. He has lectured and conducted seminars on legal writing for law firms judges, tribunals, and bar associations in many parts of the United States and throughout the world.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Dennis Byron, Kittitian, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and President of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute gave the feature address entitled “Judicial Excellence.” Sir Byron lamented the fact that he could not be present in St. Kitts for the conference because of last minute engagements.
“The work of the Judiciary is a critical element in the good governance of our communities,” Sir Byron said via audio link.
He said that the Judiciary must be characterized by equality, fairness and integrity in its dispensing of the law.
