ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Former attorney general Jimmy Bristol, KC, is challenging the decision of the Judicial and Legal Services Services (JLSC) over the appointment of St. Lucian jurist Justice Eddy Ventose as a judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal with effect from January this year.
Bristol, a former temporary High Court judge, filed his claim on December 9, arguing, among other things, that “Justice Ventose did not meet the qualifications for his appointment as outlined in section 5 of the Court’s Order at the date of his appointment.”
Bristol has filed a claim of Certiorari, which means ‘to be certified ‘or ‘to be informed.’ A higher court issues Certiorari to a lower court or tribunal either to transfer a case pending with the latter to itself or to squash the latter’s order in a case.
He is contending that Justice Ventose, who was appointed on January 8 this year, “has not been a Judge for five years as outlined by section 5 (2) (a) (i ) of the Court’s Order nor was he qualified to practice as an advocate or had practiced as an advocate for less than 15 years as is required by Section 5 (2) (a) (ii ) of the Court’s Order.”
In the affidavit, Bristol said that the information provided by the Interested Party in the Application did not show that he was qualified under Section 5(2)(a)(i), having only served as a judge for less than the requisite five years.
“Similarly, the information did not show that he was qualified under Section 5(2)(a)(ii), as he was not qualified to and did not practice as an advocate in a court of unlimited jurisdiction for a period or periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than fifteen years,” Bristol further argues.
He notes that the criteria for appointment to the office of Chief Justice and that of a Justice of Appeal are identical in Section 5 of the Court’s Order.
“The Interested Party, not having met the qualifying criteria for appointment to the position of Chief Justice, likewise needs to meet the identical criteria for appointment as a Justice of Appeal. In a letter dated the 30th of April 2024, the search Committee informed the Interested Party of his failure to meet the said qualification.
No date has yet been set for the hearing of the matter.
Justice Ventose commenced his legal career in 2004 as a trainee solicitor at Slaughter and May, London, United Kingdom, qualifying as a solicitor of England and Wales in 2006. He was called to the Bar of St. Lucia in 2007 and was subsequently admitted to the Bar of other Commonwealth Caribbean States.
In 2006, Justice Ventose started his academic career as a law lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and became a law professor in 2012. He has over 70 publications and three books, including Commonwealth Caribbean Administrative Law, published in 2012. J
Justice Ventose served in various administrative capacities at the University of the West Indies, including deputy dean and dean of the faculty of law and as director of graduate studies and research at Cave Hill Campus.
In November and December 2016, Justice Ventose acted as a Master of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court assigned to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Territory of the Virgin Islands.
In September 2018, he was appointed High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and assigned to St. Kitts-Nevis.
Between May and December 2023, Justice Ventose held several acting appointments as Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
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