Sir Lascelles Lister Robotham (22 October 1923 – 19 February 1996) was a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

n lawyer and judge who worked in a number of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

countries in the Caribbean. He was 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 Nev ...

from 1984 until his retirement in 1991.

Early life

Robotham was educated in law in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1955, he was called to the Bar of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the 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. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is ...

at Lincoln's Inn. He returned to Jamaica and worked as a Crown lawyer from 1955 to 1962. He became a magistrate in the Jamaican courts in 1962, and was promoted to the position of High Court Judge 1964. In 1976, he became a member of the Jamaican Court of Appeal. In 1979, Robotham left Jamaica after being appointed to be a High Court Judge of the

by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission of the

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econo ...

. His first assignment was to reside in and hear cases from

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two ...

. He became a Justice of Appeal of the Court in 1982, and in 1984 he became the Chief Justice. As Chief Justice, Robotham was the supreme judicial officer of the courts of

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territ ...

, the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,

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

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

, and

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea ...

. Robotham was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1987. He retired in 1991, and was succeeded as Chief Justice by

Vincent Floissac Sir Vincent Frederick Floissac (July 31, 1928 – September 25, 2010) was a Saint Lucian jurist and politician. He was styled The Rt. Hon. Sir Vincent Floissac by virtue of his membership of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Floissa ...

. After his retirement from the Caribbean court, he was appointed to be a judge on the

Court of Appeal of Belize A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

References