James Christopher Aboud (born 1956) is a Trinidad and Tobago judge and poet. He has published two volumes of poetry, ''The Stone Rose'' (1986) and'' Lagahoo Poems'' (2003). He was appointed as a judge of the High Court and on 30 October 2020, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal.

Personal life

Aboud was born in 1956 in Woodbrook, a neighbourhood of

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

, Trinidad. He is the son of Jimmy Aboud, a businessman who was called the "Textile King" due to his ownership of a fabric shop, and Lily Elias Aboud. He is of Syrian-Lebanese ancestry. He has three brothers, Gregory, Stephen and Gary Aboud, and one sister, Linda Aboud-Stephen. Aboud is married to Siân Jeary-Aboud and the couple have three daughters: Emily, Catherine Rebecca, and Vivien.

Career

He attended the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, where he received a degree in English literature in 1978. He then 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 ...

, receiving a post-graduate diploma in international relations from the

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

campus and an LLB from the Cave Hill campus in 1982. He studied at the Polytechnic of London and at the

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 ...

in England. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

and Trinidad and Tobago in 1984. He practiced as a barrister between 1984 and 2006.

Literary career

Aboud's

poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

are published under his full name. He has published two volumes of poetry: ''The Stone Rose'' (1986) and'' Lagahoo Poems'' (2003). Aboud's work has been published in various literary magazines and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

anthologies. In 2004, he was awarded the James Rodway Poetry Prize by

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...

Legal career

Aboud served as commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission from 1987 to 1993. In January 2006, he was appointed to the High Court where he served at the Supreme Court in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

until December 2007. In 2010, he was appointed a permanent judge of the High Court. He was chairman of the committee that wrote the ''Handbook on Damages for False Imprisonment and Malicious Prosecution in Trinidad and Tobago''. He was also on the board of the National Flour Mills. As a High Court judge, Aboud heard the case of ''Kublalsingh and Others v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago'', which concerned the

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

of a major highway in Trinidad and Tobago. An

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

was sought to stop the construction of the multibillion-dollar highway, but the court refused it. He also heard ''Rambachan v Warner,'' where Trinidadian politician Surujrattan Rambachan sued Jack Warner for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. In July 2016, the case was settled by a TT$375,000 payment from Warner. He was also the judge for the case of ''Jack Warner v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago'', in which the

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

to the United States of former FIFA executive Jack Warner was being contested. On 28 September 2017, Aboud issued a 50-page decision, allowing the extradition while granting Warner 28 days for an additional

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

. On 30 October 2020, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal.

References

20th-century Trinidad and Tobago lawyers Trinidad and Tobago poets Trinidad and Tobago people of Syrian descent Trinidad and Tobago people of Lebanese descent Living people 1956 births Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago judges {{authority control