Opposition Leader, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, objected to the selection, saying, “The Judiciary is no better off with this appointment; however, our national pride and our morale is worse.”
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. June 23, 2022
Today, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, openly criticized in a social media post the Prime Minister’s decision to select a Guyanese judge, Her Ladyship, the Hon. Justice Louise Esther Blenman, to be the new Chief Justice of Belize. Barrow railed at the fact that the current Acting Chief Justice, Michelle Arana, was seemingly passed over. The recent Senior Courts Bill tabled by the Government of Belize outlined, however, that the holder of the head office in the judiciary under the proposed restructuring must have experience within both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Chief Justice Arana a.g, who has served with distinction for almost 15 years on the Supreme Court, has yet to sit on the Court of Appeal bench, making it unlikely that she even applied for the post.
A release issued by the Government of Belize following somewhat of an uproar on social media indicated that the Office of the Prime Minister advertised the position earlier this year and received 8 applications. After a panel consisting of senior members of the bar interviewed applicants as part of an initial vetting process, they passed over the applications to Prime Minister Briceño, who, the release states, selected Justice Blenman, “based on her qualifications, experience, and her interview.” She was recommended favorably by the PM.
The letter was sent to Hon. Barrow on Tuesday as part of the process of consultation. He responded publicly.
“We find it an injustice and terrible failure in discharge of duty that PM Briceño feels it necessary to appoint a Foreign National over our Nations equally if not more so capable indigenous Garifuna woman who has been acting with distinction as Chief Justice for the past 2 years and served with equal distinction as Justice of the Supreme Court for 14 years,” the Opposition Leader stated in his social media post.
The release issued by GoB has informed the public that CJ Arana (Ag.) will be elevated to the Court of Appeal whenever the new Chief Justice takes office.
“Under the Senior Courts Bill that was recently tabled in the National Assembly earlier this month, the restructured office of the Chief Justice is expected to be the judicial leader for both the Supreme Court of Belize and the Court of Appeal. The Prime Minister believes that the Hon. Justice Louise Blenman’s candidacy, therefore, brings a wealth of experience, having sat on both courts in the region,” the release from GoB states.
Justice Blenman has served in various judicial positions across the Caribbean. Currently, she is a Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Court, serving nine territories. She is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and served for six years as Chairperson of the Judicial Education Institute of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
The GoB release says, “She, therefore, brings a wealth of experience, having sat as a High Court judge for 9 years and a Justice of Appeal for 10 years in the region.”
Justice Blenman was first called to the Bar in Guyana in 1988 and holds a Master of Law Degree with merit from the University of London.