Cheryl Krusen (''née'' Cheryl Thompson) is a Caribbean lawyer. A

dual national Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one country under its nationality and citizenship law as a national or citizen of that country. There is no ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, she has served in legal positions in various countries for three decades.

Career

Krusen's earlier career took her through various positions both on the bench and before it, as crown counsel in the Office of the Director of Prosecutions of Belize, beginning in 1980 as a magistrate for

Belize District Belize is a district of the nation of Belize. Its capital is Belize City. Geography Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Ambergris Caye ...

and then

Corozal District Corozal is the northernmost Districts of Belize, district of the nation of Belize. The population was 46,071 in 2024. The district capital is Corozal Town. Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya ruins are found in Corozal at Santa Rita ruins, Sa ...

, deputy registrar of the

Supreme Court of Jamaica The judiciary of Jamaica is based on the judiciary of the United Kingdom. The courts are organized at four levels, with additional provision for appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The Court of Appeal is the highest ...

; senior legal officer at the

Port Authority of Jamaica The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) is an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Mining responsible for the: * regulation and development of Jamaica's ports and shipping industry * safety of all vessels navigating the ports of entry * regulatio ...

, director of legal services at the National Housing Trust of Jamaica; legal adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business in the

House of Representatives of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica () is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. Officially, they are known as the Houses of Parliament. It consists of three elements: The Monarchy of Jamaica, Crown (represented by the Govern ...

, and legal advisor to Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. From 2002 to 2008 she served with the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...

in London, before returning to the Caribbean to take up a position as CARICOM's

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

. In July 2011, Krusen was named Solicitor-General of Belize, replacing Oscar Ramjeet. She came to wider public attention later that year when she spoke out in support of the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, which would put certain public utilities under public ownership, but more controversially would make constitutional amendments not subject to

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. As early as September 2011, the

Belize Bar Association Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

began to come into conflict with

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Bernard Q. Pitts over Krusen's positions; that month, in addition to the SG position, she was also named senior counsel. There was a question over her eligibility to hold the position of SG, as she did not fulfill the requirement of being enrolled for eight years as an attorney at law in Belize or elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Pitts got around this requirement by back-dating her enrollment to 1980 when she sat as a magistrate. In December 2011, the

filed a formal court challenge to Krusen's eligibility.

Personal life

Krusen attended the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

Cave Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados Cave Hill, St. Michael, is a suburban area situated in the parish of Saint Michael, Barbados. It is located about 4 km north-west of the capital city Bridgetown, along the west coast of Barbados. The University of the West Indies at Cave H ...

, receiving her

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1978, and went on to the

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

for her

Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Art ...

. She also received an M.Sc. at UWI's Mona campus in 1996. She was formerly married to Dylan Barrow. She is currently married to filmmaker

Cristóbal Krusen Cristóbal Krusen is an American filmmaker and author. His early films were produced in Spanish in Latin America, including ''Ropa Nueva para Felipe'' (1990) and ''¿Con Quién Te Vas?'' (1995) followed by feature films produced in Africa, Asia, ...

; the two of them have six adult children.

Works

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krusen, Cheryl Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Belizean expatriates in the United Kingdom Jamaican expatriates in England 20th-century Jamaican lawyers Solicitors-general of Belize University of the West Indies alumni Belizean women Jamaican women lawyers People associated with the Norman Manley Law School Jamaican people of Belizean descent Belizean people of Jamaican descent 21st-century Jamaican lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers