Ivor Archie (born August 18, 1960) is a Trinidadian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

who has served as chief justice of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

since 2008. He was formerly solicitor general of the Cayman Islands.

Personal life

He was born on August 18, 1960, in

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

. He attended Scarborough Anglican Boys’ School, Bishop’s High School, and St Mary’s College. He is married to Denise Rodriguez-Archie and they have two children, Chinyere and Sean.

Career

He graduated with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering ( upper second class honours) from 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 ...

in 1980. He worked as an engineer at Trintoplan Consultants Limited in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and at

Schlumberger Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global multinational oilfield services company. Founded in France in 1926, the company is now incorporated as Schlumberger NV in Willemstad, Curaçao, with principal executive offices in Houston ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Archie then studied law at the Solent University in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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, receiving his LLB in 1984. He received his

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 ...

Hugh Wooding Law School The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago. History Named for Trinidad and Tobago jurist and politician Hugh Wooding, HWLS is one of three law schools empowered by the (Caribbean) Council of Legal Education to a ...

in St Augustine. He was admitted to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago in 1986. Archie worked initially for Clarke and Company. He then served as State Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel for the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

and 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 was

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

of the Cayman Islands and acted on occasion as the

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 ...

. On March 1, 1998, he was appointed a puisine judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature. He became a Justice of Appeal on April 2, 2004, and chief justice on January 24, 2008. He is the eighth chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago and the youngest person to have taken the role. He is Chairman of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Judicial Education Institute, and a fellow of the Board of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute. In 2013, he received the

Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT) is the highest honour of Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 2008, it replaced the Trinity Cross as the decoration for distinguished and outstanding service to the country. Recipients Ref ...

. In 2018, he lost a legal battle to prevent the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) from investigating allegations over his "close ties" to Dillian Johnson, a gay man and convicted felon who fled Trinidad after surviving an attempted shooting. LATT conducted its investigation and voted to report Archie to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, who has sole authority in Trinidad and Tobago for recommending discipline and removal of judges. Prime Minster Keith Rowley declined to pursue impeachment, saying that he had been advised there was a "lack of evidence".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archie, Ivor Living people 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago judges University of the West Indies alumni Trinidad and Tobago engineers Schlumberger people Alumni of Southampton Solent University Chief justices of Trinidad and Tobago People educated at Saint Mary's College, Trinidad and Tobago 1960 births Solicitors-general of the Cayman Islands 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago judges Recipients of the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago