Dr. Joseph Samuel Archibald, QC (27 January 1934 – 3 April 2014) was a Saint Kittitian-born British Virgin Islander

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 ...

, lawyer, registrar,

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and former

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 ...

Biography

Archibald was a native of

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

. On 12 July 1960, he was admitted to

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England ...

in London. Archibald specialised in

civil litigation Civil law is a major "branch of the law", in common law legal systems such as those in England and Wales and in the United States, where it stands in contrast to criminal law. Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1 ...

commercial law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

banking law Banking regulation and supervision refers to a form of financial regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, enforced by a financial regulatory authority generally referred to as banking supervisor, with ...

international arbitration International arbitration can refer to arbitration between companies or individuals in different states, usually by including a provision for future disputes in a contract (typically referred to as international commercial arbitration) or betwee ...

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

, and

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

. He served on the Magistrate's Court,

Appellate Court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

, as well as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. He was elevated to

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1980. Archibald was appointed Attorney General of St Kitts, Nevis & Anguilla from 1960 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1968. He moved from

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

to the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

to practice law. He settled on

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

and founded his law practice, J. S. Archibald and Co. He served in several legal positions in the British Virgin Islands, including tenures as

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, Registrar, Director of Public Prosecutions,

Crown Attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel () or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

(now known as the

Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the British Virgin Islands. Under the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands the Attorney General sits ''ex officio'' in both the House of ...

), High Court Judge and

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

judge. In the early 1990s, Archibald was recommended as a potential successor for Sir Lascelles Robotham, who was retiring as Chief Justice of the

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and N ...

at the time. Archibald also served as a commissioner on the committee which appoints judges to the

Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ or CCtJ; ; ) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean Court of Justice has two jurisdictions: an ...

. Archibald was one of the first presidents of the BVI Bar Association, a position he held from 1986 until 1994. He also served as a founder and founding president of the

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ...

(OECS) Bar Association from 1991 until 1996. As president of the OECS Bar Association, Archibald oversaw the ethical standards and rules under which new solicitors and

s must adhere to to practice before the

. Joseph Archibald was reappointed to a second term on the CARICOM Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission in 2010. In 1987, he served as the 13th World Law Conference's chairman of the Constitutional Committee at the convention in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where he moderated a discussion on "The Bicentennial of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

and its effect on the Constitutions of Asia". He also delivered the inaugural Sir Archibald Nedd Memorial Lecture on 26 July 1996, in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

. Archibald was honoured by the

World Jurist Association The World Jurist Association (WJA), formerly known as the World Peace Through Law Center, is a non-governmental organization based in the United States that aims to strengthen and increase the rule of law around the world through cooperation. It ...

, which named him as one of its eighteen outstanding members and added his name to the Rule of Law Monument. 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 ...

had awarded the Joseph S. Archibald QC International Prize to final year LL.B students since 1990. In October 2005, the University of the West Indies bestowed him with an honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Dr. Archibald died on 3 April 2014, in McNamara,

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital and largest town of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is d ...

, British Virgin Islands. He was survived by his wife of 48 years, V. Inez Archibald, who has served as the

Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

since 2008; their three daughters, and five grandchildren. His funeral was held at the Road Town Methodist Church in Road Town on 26 April 2014. Dignitaries in attendance included Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Denzil Douglas Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. He was the leader of the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Part ...

. Archibald was buried at the Road Town cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, Joseph 1934 births 2014 deaths People from Road Town British Virgin Islands King's Counsel British Virgin Islands judges 20th-century Saint Kitts and Nevis lawyers Members of Lincoln's Inn Immigrants to the British Virgin Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis emigrants Attorneys general of the British Virgin Islands Attorneys general of Saint Kitts and Nevis