Delighted that Sir Dennis Byron to be guest speaker at Gala: PM Harris

Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Timothy Harris is commending the organizers of his Gala Committee on the choice of the Right Honourable Sir Dennis Byron to be the special guest at the Prime Minister’s Annual Gala set for this Saturday, January 5th, 2019 at the St. Kitts Marriott Ballroom.

Sir Dennis is the best-known legal luminary from St. Kitts and Nevis, having served the world, region and the Federation during a distinguished judicial career that has spanned more than 35 years.

The youngest person to be appointed a judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) at age 38, he was later confirmed as Chief Justice of the ECSC in April 1999 after acting in that capacity since 1996.

In 2000, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II conferred Judge Byron with the award of Knight Bachelor and in 2004 he was appointed a member of Her Majesty’s Privy Council.

Sir Dennis Byron was sworn in as a Permanent Judge of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in June 2004 and went on to serve as its President for two terms – he was elected ICTR President in May 2007 and re-elected for a second term in May 2009.

On September 1st, 2011, Sir Dennis was sworn in as President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and served in that role until July 3rd, 2018.

“Sir Dennis has earned considerable international standing and respect not only for his robust intellect and legal acumen, but also for his staunch advocacy in terms of improving access to, as well as the quality of, justice for all,” Prime Minister Harris said today.

The Honourable Prime Minister added, “Sir Dennis’ people, country and region have been well served by his longstanding professional and personal commitment to promoting fairness and preventing discrimination. The Gala Committee’s choice of Sir Dennis, therefore, is particularly apt at a time when my Team Unity administration has never been more committed to securing opportunity for all.”

Judge Byron worked in private practice as a Barrister-at Law throughout the Leeward Islands with Chambers in St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla from 1966 to 1982. He read law at Cambridge and was called to the Bar at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple as Barrister-at-Law of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.

The Right Honourable Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron was born in 1943 in Basseterre, St. Kitts.