Chief Justice of the Bahamas

The chief justice of the Bahamas heads the Supreme Court of the Bahamas.

Legal basis The position of chief justice is authorised by Article 93(2) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 94(1), the governor-general appoints the chief justice on the recommendation of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition. Removal of the chief justice is governed by Article 96(6); the prime minister recommends removal to the governor-general, who then forms a tribunal of at least three members selected by the governor-general in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Under Article 98(2), the chief justice may be invited to sit on the Court of Appeal by the president of that court.

List of chief justices

British Crown Colony of the Bahamas, 1718-1973 Thomas Walker, 1718– (died 1723) Sir William Morison, c.1770 Thomas Atwood, 1773-1785 John Matson, 1785-1789 (afterwards Chief Justice of Dominica, 1789) Stephen de Lancey c.1790–1797 Moses Franks 1799–1805 (died 1810) United States Gazette, March 6, 1805. Phila., PA William Vesey Munnings 1811–1836 Sir John Campbell Lees 1836–1865 The Gentleman's Magazine, Volumes 160-161 Sir William Henry Doyle 1865– Sir George Campbell Anderson 1875– Henry William Austin, 1880–1890 Roger Yelverton (1890–1893) (Sir) Charles George Walpole, 1893–1897 Sir Ormond Drimmie Malcolm 1897–1910 Sir John Bromhead Matthews 1910–1911 Daniel Thomas Tudor 1911–1922 Sir Sidney Charles Nettleton 1922–1924 (afterwards Chief Justice of Cyprus, 1924) Sir Ewen Reginald Logan 1925–1927 Sir Kenneth James Beatty 1927–1931 (afterwards Chief Justice of Gibraltar, 1931) Sir Richard Clifford Tute, K.C.M.G, 1932-1939 Sir Oscar Bedford Daly, 1939–unk A Serpent In Eden: 'The greatest murder mystery of all time' Sir Oswald Lawrence Bancroft, unk–1951 Alfred Francis Adderley, 1951 Sir Guy Wilmot McLintock Henderson 1951–1960 Sir Ralph Abercrombie Campbell, 11 August 1960 to 31 May 1970 William Gordon Bryce, C.B.E., Q.C., 1 June 1970 to 30 June 1973

Bahamas after independence in 1973 Sir Leonard J. Knowles, 4 July 1973 to 6 August 1978 James Alfred Smith, 7 July 1978 to 11 May 1980 Harvey Lloyd da Costa, 18 November 1980 to 31 December 1981 Vivian O. Blake, 1 January 1982 to 9 September 1983 Sir Denis Eustace Gilbert Malone (acting), 10 September to 31 December 1983 Rt. Hon. Mr. Philip Telford Georges, 1 January 1984 to 30 September 1989 Sir Joaquim Gonsalves Sabola, 1 October 1989 to 31 December 1995 Sir Cyril S. S. Fountain, 1 January 1995 to 30 October 1996 Dame Joan A. Sawyer, DBE, 1 November 1996 to 26 November 2001 Sir Burton P. C. Hall, KSS, KHS, 2001 to 2009 Hon. Sir Michael L. Barnett, 24 August 2009 to 31 January 2015 Hon. Sir Hartman Longley, 2 February 2015 to 22 December 2017 Hon. Stephen Isaacs, 10 August 2018 to 24 August 2018 Hon. Sir Brian Moree, KC, 12 June 2019 to 3 August 2022 Hon. Sir Ian Winder, 3 August 2022 to Present

References