PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) confirmed the death of Justice Jacob Wit, who retired from the region’s final Court last week due to ill health, on Tuesday.
In a statement, the CCJ said that Justice Wit, 71, was a member of the inaugural CCJ bench in 2005 “and diligently served until his retirement in December 2023.
“This native of the Netherlands was an eminent jurist with wide legal expertise in private law, commercial and admiralty law, insurance, bankruptcy, and insolvency, company law and intellectual property, criminal law, military law, administrative law, constitutional law, and international human rights law,” the CCJ said.
Before joining the CCJ, he adjudicated cases in Curaçao, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Dutch Windward Islands of Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.
“It is a sad day for the Court. Justice Wit and I have worked together since 2005, when we formed part of the inaugural Bench of the Court. He was the lone Civil Law Judge on the current CCJ Bench with rich experience in military, administrative, constitutional, and international human rights law.
“His involvement with the CCJ Academy for Law and his role in coordinating the Academy’s most recent Biennial Conference and Regional Town Hall focusing on crime, paired with his passion for regional criminal justice reform, are recognized and deeply appreciated. I will miss him and his contributions to the Court and the region,” said CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders.
The CCJ described Justice Wit as “a polyglot, with fluency in several languages and will be remembered for his wit inside and outside the courtroom.”
He also served as a Ranking Member of the CCJ Academy for Law and was the President of the Constitutional Court of Saint Maarten, a part-time role. Recently, Justice Wit was the 2020 recipient of the Nederlandse Juristen Vereniging Award because of his long and influential contributions to forging and maintaining public trust in the judiciary in a turbulent environment.
The CCJ said Justice Wit was also fondly regarded and highly respected by his peers on the Bench, the Court, and the entire region.
“His judgments and rich contribution to the CCJ Academy for Law work will endure. The Court will conduct a special sitting and open a condolence book to recognize the Judge’s contribution. Our sincerest condolences are extended to his family,” the CCJ added.
and then  confirmed the death of Justice Jacob Wit, who retired from the region’s final Court last week due to ill health){kind=link}