The chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago is the highest judge of the Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago and presides over its Supreme Court of Judicature.[1] He is appointed by a common decision of the
president, the
prime minister and the leader of the main opposition party.[1]
History
Tobago was claimed for
England already by
King James I in 1608, however in the following time saw varying rulers.[2] In 1794, a planter was elected the first chief justice.[3] The island was eventually ceded to the
United Kingdom in 1814 at the
Treaty of Paris[4] and from 1833 it was assigned to the colony of the
British Windward Islands.[5]
In 1797 Trinidad, who had been previously controlled by the
Spanish Crown, was captured by a fleet commanded by
Sir Ralph Abercromby and thus came under British government.[6] The post of a chief justice was established in March of the same year.[7] Both islands, Trinidad and Tobago were incorporated into a single colony in 1888, which gained its independence in 1962.[8]
Brereton, Bridget (1997). Law, Justice and Empire: The Colonial Career of John Gorrie, 1829–1892. Kingston, Jamaica: Press University of the West Indies.
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Comma, Carlton N. (1973). Who's Who in Trinidad and Tobago 1972–1973. Port of Spain: Carib Printers Ltd.
Yawching, Donna (1991). Who's Who and Handbook of Trinidad and Tobago. Inprint Caribbean Ltd.
ISBN976-608-038-0.
Jacqueline West, ed. (2001). South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002. London: Europe Publications.
ISBN1-85743-121-9.
Nolan, Cathal J. (2002). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations S-Z. Vol. IV. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
ISBN0-313-32383-6.
Woodcock, Henry Iles (1867). A History of Tobago. Ayr: Smith and Grant.
Laurence, Keith Ormiston (1995). Tobago in Wartime, 1793–1815. Kingston, Jamaica: Press University of the West Indies.
ISBN976-640-003-2.
Daniel O'Connell & Maurice R. O'Connell (1972). Irish Manuscripts Commission (ed.). The Correspondence of Daniel O'Connell: 1792–1814. Vol. I. Kingston, Jamaica: Irish University Press.
ISBN0-7165-0208-9.
Rose, George Maclean (1888). A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography. Vol. II. Rose Publishing Co.