Former Chancellor Désirée Bernard, 2 other Guyanese recognised as pioneering C’bean women jurists

Former Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana Justice Désirée Bernard has been recognised by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Academy for Law as a Pioneering Caribbean Woman Jurist. Also recognised were the late Iris de Freitas Brazao and Gladys Ramsarran – both born in British Guiana.
The latter two women were described “as the women who blazed the trail for others by their early entry into the legal profession” as well as early pioneers in the male-dominated profession.

Iris de Freitas Brazao was called to the Bar in 1929 just a few years after women were allowed to enter the profession in Britain. Ramsarran, on the other hand, was called to the Bar in Trinidad and Tobago in 1932. She was the first woman in British Guiana to qualify as a lawyer.
Last week, the CCJ Academy for Law officially launched the book “Eminent Caribbean Jurist: Pioneering Caribbean Women Jurists” in which 34 outstanding female jurists from across the region were recognised for their sterling contributions to Caribbean jurisprudence. The book contains detailed biographies of Justice Bernard, Brazao, Ramsarran, and the other honourees.
CCJ’s President Justice Adrian Saunders noted that the women whose life and work are chronicled in the publication “represent the best of our part of the world.”
The regional Judge said that the honourees have persevered against all odds and have distinguished themselves whether at the Bar or on the bench or in some other significant service to society.

Distinguished women
According to him, these distinguished women have lent their voice, their skills, and their expertise to the struggles of the vulnerable and the marginalised.
“They have advocated for equality, good governance under the rule of law, and for a just society. They have excelled in their respective fields, and they have set standards worthy of emulation. Their life and accomplishment are an unmatched source of inspiration to generations, especially to women and girls.”

Chairman of the CCJ Academy of Law CCJ Judge Winston Anderson said the biographies memorialised their travails and their triumphs. Justice Anderson said their profiles serve to motivate a new generation of lawyers to also leave their footprints on the sands of time.
Justice Anderson said he is delighted to be associated with this lasting tribute to the sterling contributions of these grounding-breaking women jurists. “In working with them, whether physically or through the record they left behind, we were truly inspired,” he expressed.
Justice Bernard’s biography is chronicled on the CCJ’s website. It states that she read law at the University of London, graduating with the LLB (Hons) in 1963. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1964, she engaged in private practice in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana from 1965 to 1980.

During that period, she was appointed a Magistrate (1970), Commissioner of Oaths and Notary Public (1976), and was admitted to the English Roll of Solicitors (1977).
Thereafter, Justice Bernard established a number of professional “firsts,” being appointed the first female High Court Judge of the Supreme Court of Guyana (1980); the first female Justice of Appeal (1992); the first female Chief Justice of Guyana and in the Commonwealth Caribbean (1996); and the first female Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and in the Commonwealth Caribbean (2001).
Justice Bernard took the oath of office as a Judge of the CCJ at the Court’s inauguration ceremony, on Saturday, April 16, 2005.
During her long and distinguished career, she held memberships in various regional and international organisations, having been the founding Secretary of the Caribbean Women’s Association (CARIWA 1970-1974); first President of the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA 1976); member and Chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for Women’s Affairs, later established as the Women & Development Unit of UWI (WAND – 1978).

Internationally, Justice Bernard served as both rapporteur (1982-1984) and Chair (1985-1989) of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women during her membership, which ran from 1982 to 1998.  She has presented many scholarly papers at and participated in numerous international seminars and colloquia both regionally and internationally on a variety of subjects relating to the law, gender, and other matters of public interest.
For her exceptional contribution to the improvement of the status of women and the development and practice of law, Justice Bernard has received several awards, the most notable being the Cacique Crown of Honour, and the Order of Roraima, Guyana’s 3rd, and 2nd highest national awards, respectively.
In July 2005, the Honourable Judge was awarded the Caricom Triennial Award for Women.  She was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the University of the West Indies in November 2007.  In February 2011, she was appointed a Judge of the Inter-American Development Bank Administrative Tribunal, based in Washington, DC, USA.
In 2014, she was appointed to the Bermuda Court of Appeal. (G1)