Anderson sworn in as 4th CCJ president, calls on region to fulfil promise of judicial sovereignty
Published:Monday | July 7, 2025 | 1:22 AMJanet Silvera/Gleaner Writer -
WESTERN BUREAU:
Fifteen years after joining the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as its youngest judge, Jamaica-born Justice Winston Anderson has reached a new milestone.
Anderson was sworn in as the court’s fourth president on the cusp of CARICOM’s 49th Regular Heads of Government Meeting in Montego Bay, St James on Sunday at the Jewel Grande Resort in Rose Hall, also in St James.
Delivering his inaugural address before regional leaders, including Jamaica's Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Anderson issued a direct and passionate appeal for CARICOM states, particularly Jamaica, to fulfil their treaty obligations and accede to the CCJ’s appellate jurisdiction.
“It was on the 15th of June 2010 that I was sworn in as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice at King’s House in Kingston,” Anderson recalled. “Today’s event would not have been within the reach of my most active imagination.”
Anderson paid tribute to his predecessors, presidents Michael de la Bastide, Sir Dennis Byron, and Adrian Saunders, crediting them with building the foundation of what he described as “an institution of excellence”.
Anderson’s own journey began in rural St Ann, Jamaica. Raised in modest circumstances, he credited his early community for instilling values of discipline, integrity, and perseverance. His legal career was shaped by regional institutions; first as a student at The University of the West Indies (UWI), then as a lecturer at Cave Hill, and later as general counsel to CARICOM.
“I entered the Faculty of Law at Mona in 1980. My first teachers were Dr Derek McCoy, now attorney general of Jamaica, and Mr Delroy Chuck, now minister of justice," he said.
Anderson used the platform to reaffirm the importance of the CCJ as a symbol of Caribbean maturity and independence.
“Beginning in the 1960s, we extracted our political independence from the United Kingdom. Forty years later, we created an institution worthy of our judicial sovereignty,” he said.
In a poignant moment, he looked directly at the audience and added, “I am hopeful that during my tenure, other states will fulfil their treaty obligations and become full members of the appellate jurisdiction.”
Jamaica, which hosts the CCJ's inauguration this year, remains one of the countries yet to join the court in its appellate capacity.
Anderson emphasised that the CCJ was not imposed on the Caribbean by any foreign power.
“It was conceived and established by the people of the Caribbean to serve Caribbean interests,” he stated, noting that even beyond its five appellate states, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Dominica, and St Lucia, its judgments are cited in nearly every common law Caribbean jurisdiction.
Promising to intensify the court’s itinerant sittings, Anderson said he wanted “the people of the region to see us, interact with us, and realise that we are, in fact, their kith and kin”.
Holness, in his remarks, described Anderson’s appointment as a “moment of pride, not only for Jamaica, but for the entire region”.
“You bring to this office a distinguished legal mind and decades of service grounded in scholarship and vision,” the prime minister said. He praised Anderson’s work on the appellate and original jurisdictions and his role as founding chair of the CCJ Academy for Law.
Looking ahead, Holness affirmed Jamaica’s continued commitment to regional legal cooperation, stating: “We believe that the Caribbean Court of Justice, under this new leadership, will continue to inspire confidence, protect rights, and shape a region where justice is accessible, relevant, and transformative.”
Anderson’s predecessor, Justice Adrian Saunders, who has worked alongside him for 15 years, described the occasion as very special.
“He is a brilliant and tireless jurist. He is ideally suited and extremely well prepared for the enhanced role he is set to play,” he said, highlighting Anderson’s deep involvement in the court’s legal reasoning, strategic direction, and regional judicial reform.
Having written or co-authored more than 30 opinions and sat on every major case involving the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Anderson has already shaped the legal fabric of the Caribbean. As chair of the CCJ’s Strategic Planning Committee and the Academy for Law, he has led efforts that extended far beyond the bench, including the landmark Needham Point Declaration, a judicial blueprint to reduce crime and improve justice systems across the region.