Caribbean Judge the Hon Dame Janice M. Pereira DBE to sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
12 September 2024
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is pleased to announce that the Hon Dame Janice M. Pereira DBE has accepted an invitation from the JCPC's chairman Lord Reed to sit with the JCPC in London for a week in December, to hear scheduled appeals. This has been made possible by the gracious decision of His Majesty The King to appoint Dame Janice to the Privy Council.
Dame Janice is a distinguished judge who has recently retired from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, where she was the first female Chief Justice. In May 2013 she was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Born in the British Virgin Islands, Dame Janice attended the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus where she received her LLB (honours), and was called to the Bar in 1981. On 26th March 2018 Dame Janice was called to the Bench as an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, and was later a High Court judge, before being appointed as a Justice of Appeal in 2009.
The chairman of the JCPC Lord Reed has been working with the Ministry of Justice to enable judges from JCPC jurisdictions to sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Lord Reed said:
"I am delighted that Dame Janice Pereira is joining us to sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. As the recently retired Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and President of the Court of Appeal, she will bring to our work a wealth of experience and expertise. Having a judge with direct experience of life in the Caribbean will strengthen our ability to serve the countries there from which we hear appeals."
Reacting to the news of her appointment, Dame Janice said:
"As a Caribbean jurist, I am deeply humbled to be afforded the privilege to serve on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the highest judicial body of many of our Caribbean States and Territories. I look forward with great anticipation to serving the people in this new and important role"
Dame Janice will sit with the JCPC from the 9th-13th December 2024. The appeals which she will hear (with other Justices) will be shortly published on the JCPC website. Members of the public are welcome to watch proceedings in court or livestreamed on the JCPC website.