Sir Edward Zacca (26 July 1931 – 11 November 2019) was chief justice of the

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 ...

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

from 1985 to 1996. Under the

Constitution of Jamaica The Constitution of Jamaica is the collection of laws made by the government. It is the supreme law of Jamaica. It was drafted by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature in 1961-62, approved in the United Kingdom and included as ...

, the

chief justice of Jamaica Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

serves as acting

governor-general of Jamaica The governor-general of Jamaica () is the representative of the Jamaican monarch, currently King Charles III, in Jamaica. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Jamaica. The functions ...

when that office is vacant, and Chief Justice Zacca served in that capacity from March to August 1991. Zacca was succeeded as Chief Justice by the Hon. Mr. Justice Lensley Wolfe. He became a member of

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

in 1992. Zacca was first appointed as Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal for

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

on 21 October 1996. He became President of the Court on 1 January 2004, serving through 2014.

Early life and education

Zacca was born on 26 July 1931 to Wadie and Angel Zacca. Edward Zacca married Hope Margaret, the daughter of George Haddad (J.P. and Merchant) and Nellie Haddad on 19 October 1958. They had three children together: Christopher, Karen, and Edward, Jr. Zacca attended Kingston College from 1941 to and was called to the Bar in

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, London, on 9 February 1954. From 1952 to 1953 he was the President of the Hans Crescent Colonial Students' Residence, London.

Career

On 29 June 1954, Zacca was admitted to practice and was appointed Clerk of Courts January 1958. He became Acting Resident Magistrate for St. Catherine, RM for St. Mary and St. James (1960–65) and RM for St. Andrew (1965–1968). He was subsequently appointed, High Court Judge, Justice of Appeal, and President Court of Appeal, Jamaica. On 2 January 1985, he was sworn in as Chief Justice of Jamaica by

Florizel Glasspole Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole (25 September 1909 – 25 November 2000) was the third and longest-serving governor-general of Jamaica, in office from 1973 to 1991. Early life and education Florizel Glasspole was born in Kingston, Jamaica ...

at King's House. He served as acting

from March to August 1991. Zacca was elevated up to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom when he was accepted by the Privy Council on 1 September 1992 to one of its members. Zacca was the fourth Caribbean Chief Justice to be appointed to the Privy Council and the first from Jamaica. Here he was not allowed to sit on any appeal being heard from Jamaica by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, but he was eligible to do so for appeals from other Caribbean and Commonwealth countries. He retired as Chief Justice of Jamaica on 25 July 1996 after giving 38 years in the judicial service. He was also president of the Court of Appeal of Turks & Caicos Islands and of the Court of Appeal of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. He served as

president of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas The President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas heads the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas. Legal basis The position of President of the Court of Appeal is authorised by Article 98(2)(a) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 98(2)(b ...

from March 2000 to July 2001.

Honours

Edward Zacca was a member of the

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

.The Order of Jamaica
He was also a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, which confers the right to the prenominal style "The Right Honourable". He was knighted in the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded as ...

, as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacca, Edward 20th-century Jamaican judges Presidents of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas Members of the Order of Jamaica Jamaican members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Chief justices of Jamaica Governors-general of Jamaica 1931 births 2019 deaths Jamaican knights Jamaican judges on the courts of the Bahamas Jamaican judges on the courts of the Cayman Islands Jamaican judges on the courts of the Turks and Caicos Islands Jamaican judges on the courts of Bermuda Jamaican Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Jamaican people of Lebanese descent People educated at Kingston College (Jamaica)