Portfolio of Legal Affairs

Published 9th February 2022, 2:44pm

1. My Lord Chief Justice, Honourable Justices of Appeal, Honourable Judges of the Grand Court, Honourable Chief Magistrate, and other Honourable Magistrates, President of the Justices of the Peace Association, Madam Solicitor General, Madam Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, President of Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association, President of ALPA, Special Guests, distinguished colleagues at the Public and Private bars, Ladies and Gentlemen. Special hello also to those following us virtually!

2. My Lord Chief Justice, I rise at your invitation, to move the motion for the opening of the Grand Court for the Year 2022.

3. My Lord, given the change in format for this year I am mindful that comments are expected to be abridged, and so my Lord Chief Justice, with that caveat please allow me to observe that, like 2020, the year 2021 was characterized by a mixture of challenges and gains.

4. Challenges occasioned mainly by the continuing presence of the COVID19 pandemic in all its manifestations, and which have unfortunately stretched into 2022.

5. The pandemic My Lord, has unfortunately resulted in other problems, issues such as dislocations in our economy, continuing separation of families, severe strain on our health sector and unfortunate loss of life/lives, among others.

6. But My Lord, as I observed elsewhere, despite all the intractable problems with COVID our courts - Court of Appeal, Grand Court, Magistrates Court - all found acceptable creative ways to keep the wheels of justice turning.

7. And for that I wish to pay tribute to you My Lord Chief Justice, fellow Judges, Magistrates and Learned President and other Justices of Appeal, as well as the entire judicial administration.

8. My Lord, we were even able to recognize a number of outstanding colleagues as new members of Her Majesty’s Counsel, one of whom, My Lord, has since gone on to be elevated to knighthood. Permit me to again extend my congratulations to them all, and special congrats to Sir Alden McLaughlin, QC. Congrats also to my colleague Mr. Erik Bodden on being elected President of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners Association.

9. Permit me, My Lord Chief Justice, to also indulge in a bit of personal reference to you by observing that this might be your last occasion presiding as Chief Justice over the opening of the Grand Court, and while the actual retirement is (happily for us) still some months away, when it does arrive it would mark the end of a historic tenure of some 24 years as Chief Justice, and a period during which these halls of justice, the jurisdiction, the region, and indeed farther afield, have all been enriched by your scholarly and illuminating judgments, including the longest judgment ever to be delivered by our courts to date (and which was recently upheld by the Court of Appeal).

10. Your tenure as Chief Justice marks a period during which you have brought glory and honour to the jurisdiction, without any orchestrated fanfare but rather in your characteristic unflappable, phlegmatic manner, and with visionary and transformational stewardship.

11. History will be kind to you My Lord, not because you will be writing it but because the evidence will be irrefutable!

12. And speaking of history, My Lord, allow me to observe that present here today is your dear wife Mrs. Jacqueline Smellie who has a long history of faithful attendance to these openings in her dual capacity as a spouse and of course as Counsel of longstanding at the Cayman Bar and in unequivocal support of the administration of justice.

13. Her presence is always very uplifting and warmly appreciated.

I now formally move for the Opening of the Grand Court for the year 2018. May it so please you My Lords.

Hon. Samuel Bulgin QC

Attorney General

January 12, 2022