Raymond Claudius Sock (born 5 June 1946) is a Gambian judge who currently serves as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. He had previously served as a Justice from 2012 to 2015, when he was dismissed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 ...

Early life and education

Sock received his primary and secondary education in The Gambia, completing his university education in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

(

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

) from

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adjac ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. He went on to train in law at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is a law school in London, England, and it is one of the six schools of City, University of London. The law school traces its origins to the Inns of Court School of Law (ICSL), which was founded in 1852. The ICSL became par ...

(now

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

) and

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 ...

, where he was called to the bar. He also completed a certificate in legislative drafting from the Australia Legislative Drafting Institute.

Career

Sock joined the Attorney General's Chambers in 1980 as a state counsel. By 1989, he had become the

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 ...

and Legal Secretary, and was seconded to help establish the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), where he served as its first Executive Director, responsible for the creation of the centre's first programmes, in collaboration with organisations such as the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...

(ICJ). Between 1989 and 1995, Sock authored several articles on human rights in Africa and organised various meetings and workshops on the subject. From 1995 to 2000, Sock worked in private legal practice as a senior partner, during which he handled both civil and criminal cases, including murder and treason. In 2000, he returned to the Ministry of Justice to take up his old job as Solicitor General. He was nominated by The Gambia as a judge of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

in 2002, though his nomination was not successful. For a brief period in 2005, he served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

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 ...

. From 2005 to 2011, Sock worked as a consultant for the UNDP and ECOWAS, as well as the Gambian Ministry of Justice. He became the first Director-General of the Gambia Law School, which was established in October 2011. In April 2012, Sock was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. He served as Acting Chief Justice from November 2012 to June 2013, being replaced by Justice Joseph Wowo. He was dismissed in June 2015 alongside Justice Gibou Janneh, a decision decried by Kairo News as "taking away the Gambian touch at the higher echelon in legal rulings." In October 2017,

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow (, born 15 February 1965) is a The Gambia, Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of The Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village in Jimara district, he attended Crab Island Secondary ...

re-appointed Sock and Janneh to the Supreme Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sock, Raymond Living people 20th-century Gambian lawyers Alumni of City, University of London Government ministers of the Gambia Chief justices of the Gambia Lewis & Clark College alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni 1946 births 21st-century Gambian judges