Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson. (FP)
Barbados’ judiciary has officially launched the Barbados Bench Bar Journal 2018.
The journal, which was compiled by the Barbados Supreme Court, in collaboration with the IMPACT Justice Project and the Barbados Bar Association, represents a collaboration of essays in celebration of Barbados’ Independence and 50 years of the island having an independent judiciary.
Speaking during the official launch at the University of the West Indies’ 3Ws Pavilion last Saturday, Chief Justice, Sir Marston Gibson, welcomed the collaboration between the Bench and the Bar to produce the journal.
“All too often, we at the Bench and Bar tend to view each other with suspicion, almost like boxers circling each other in a ring waiting for the opportunity to land the first punch.
“What this publication says is that our goal is the same – the development of indigenous jurisprudence – which is responsive to the needs of the people in Barbados and of this region. We are more than cooks in the kitchen preparing different parts of a scrumptious meal rather than boxers,” Sir Marston said.
Former Chief Justice, Sir David Simmons, echoed similar remarks, noting that the journal was an important contribution to legal education in Barbados.
He added that as a result of so many members of the Bar, the serving Bench, former members of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and members of the private Bar having contributed to the publication was testimony to the desire of the legal profession to lift its standards up, and make its mark in regional jurisprudence.
“This publication is but a small step toward the fashioning of the Commonwealth Caribbean jurisprudence…. There are a wide range of topics in the publication [and] they all drill down into the essentials. There is nothing frivolous in the publication,” Sir David stated.
In delivering the feature address, Canadian High Commissioner, Marie Legault, said the journal had an important part to play as it contained numerous articles relating to various aspects of the law, human rights issues, gender and human rights, and also sexual harassment.
It contains the work of 29 contributors, including attorneys-at-law and judges.