The Caribbean Court docket of Justice (CCJ) will host a ceremonial sitting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at Queen’s Corridor in Port of Spain to honor Justice Adrian Saunders, who’s retiring after almost 30 years of distinguished service to the Caribbean judiciary.
The occasion will mark the tip of Justice Saunders’ tenure on the CCJ, the place he served for 20 years—seven of these because the Court docket’s third President. His official retirement takes impact on July 3, 2025.
Reflecting on his decades-long profession, Justice Saunders acknowledged, “It’s really an honour to have served the individuals of the Caribbean for nearly thirty years. Each on the Jap Caribbean Supreme Court docket and right here on the CCJ, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside a distinguished panel of judges and a dedicated crew of employees, all of whom share an unwavering dedication to justice, regional growth, and institutional excellence.”
A local of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Justice Saunders is the primary citizen from the Organisation of the Jap Caribbean States (OECS) to serve on the CCJ Bench. His judicial profession started in 1996 along with his appointment to the Excessive Court docket of the Jap Caribbean Supreme Court docket (ECSC). He was elevated to the Court docket of Enchantment in 2003 and served as performing Chief Justice from 2004 to 2005.
All through his ECSC tenure, Justice Saunders was a key driver of judicial reform, together with the implementation of court-connected mediation and the event of the Court docket’s first Judicial Code of Ethics. He earned a Fellowship from the Commonwealth Judicial Schooling Institute (CJEI) in 1998 and served as Course Director for its Intensive Research Programme for a number of years. He’s presently the Vice President of the Institute.
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His contributions to advancing judicial integrity additionally earned him a place on the Advisory Board of the World Judicial Integrity Community, below the United Nations Workplace on Medication and Crime.
Justice Saunders joined the CCJ as one among its inaugural judges in 2005. He was a founding member of the Caribbean Affiliation of Judicial Officers (CAJO) and served as its Chairman from 2009 to 2019. Since changing into President of the CCJ in 2018, he has led the Court docket by means of key strategic developments, strengthening its administrative operations and increasing public engagement.
The ceremonial sitting shall be live-streamed on the CCJ’s official YouTube channel, in step with the Court docket’s custom of transparency and accessibility.
