Trinidad. In the case of Dean Boyce, British Caribbean Bank Ltd, and Lord Michael Ashcroft KCMG v the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today issued a judgment stating a 2012 complaint against Mr. Justice Awich, now a Judge in the Court of Appeal, should be properly considered by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC). This paves the way to allow the JLSC to refer the complaint to the Belize Advisory Council which would then investigate whether the judge should be removed from office.

The matter arose from a dispute as to whether the conduct of Mr. Justice Awich during his tenure as a judge of the Supreme Court of Belize is relevant to his removal from office as a Justice of Appeal. Mr. Justice Awich was appointed as a Judge in the Court of Appeal on 24 April 2012 and was sworn in in May of that year.

In a joint letter dated 17 July 2012, Mr. Dean Boyce, British Caribbean Bank Ltd and Lord Michael Ashcroft KCMG made a request to the JLSC that Mr. Justice Awich should be investigated by the Belize Advisory Council. This request detailed allegations of lack of judicial ‘acumen’, delays in judgment writing and lack of timeliness in the delivery of judgments whilst Justice Awich was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Belize. The appellants, in that letter, suggested that it should be considered whether the Judge should be removed from office for inability and/or misbehaviour. Objections to his appointment had previously been raised by the Bar Association of Belize and the Leader of the Opposition…[+]