The Supreme Court of Guyana today held a Special Sitting of the Full Bench to pay tribute to the memory of the late retired CCJ Judge and Chancellor, Justice Desiree Bernard.

Tributes poured in from the top brass of the local and regional judiciary who remembered the life and work of Justice Bernard.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, in his tribute remembered Justice Bernard as having a long and successful legal career.

He said Justice Bernard’s judgements were always sound and were able to withstand scrutiny when appealed.  He said the legal fraternity is poorer with her passing. 

“Justice Bernard made a significant contribution to the jurisprudence of Guyana and the Caribbean as evidenced by her many judgements being published by the law reports of Guyana, the West Indian law reports and the Commonwealth Law reports. Justice Bernard’s judgements were scholarly yet simple, well researched and carefully reasoned,” the Attorney General noted.

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali- Hack, also remembered Justice Bernard as a respectable jurist of ‘good character

“As a young lawyer I was struck by Justice Bernard genuine concern for human life and for the decline of humanity in our society. For Justuce Bernard, a case was not just another case, but the attached the human significance and importance which it deserved,” the DPP noted.

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Adrian Saunders in his tribute said Justice Bernard was ahead of her time. He said her willingness to enhance the jurisprudence of the region cannot be overlooked.

“Justice Bernard was always the first because she was well ahead of her time. She considers that Caribbean judges should not feel obliged to follow faithfully English common law or decisions of the English courts that did not appreciate the uniqueness of our own local conditions,” Justice Saunder stated.

Chief Justice Roxanne George, credited most of her legal upbringing to Justice Bernard who she said encouraged her to join the High Court Bench. 

“I am a mentee of Justice Bernard who actively persuaded me to join the High Court Bench and I am thankful for her tenacity in this regard, for I have no regrets,” the Chief Justice said.

The Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings, also remembered Justice Bernard as a legal giant who was always willing to assist her colleagues on the bench.

Also delivering tributes were Former Chancellor Carl Singh, Attorneys Nigel Hughes and Ralph Ramkarran among others.

Justice Bernard who died in March, began her career in 1963 when she attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London.

By 1964 she was a qualified Solicitor and practiced in the Guyana Law Courts until 1980, when she was appointed the first female judge in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana, where she had practiced since 1965. In 1992, she was appointed the first female Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Guyana; in 1996, the first female Chief Justice; in 2001, the first female Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and the Caribbean and in 2005, the first female Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

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