…hailed for contributions to revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
Guyanese born former Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Judge Duke Pollard, who served at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat in posts including Officer-in-Charge, has passed away, throwing the legal fraternity into mourning.
According to reports, Pollard passed away in a hospital in New York. He was 86 years old. Leading the way in tributes was Caricom Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett, who said on Tuesday said that she is extremely saddened by the loss of Pollard.
Former CCJ Judge Duke Pollard
“His immense contribution to the jurisprudence of our community and his work towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice and as a member of the Court assures his legacy,” she said in her statement.
Meanwhile, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall also posted a tribute to Pollard. According to Nandlall, the late Justice acquitted himself well as a member of the CCJ and has left a rich legacy that includes his work on the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
“Justice Pollard spent most of his professional life at Caricom, elevating himself as the Chief Legal Draftsman in that organisation. He is credited with drafting most of the legal instruments of this institution. He headed the team that worked on the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. He authored many publications regarding Caribbean integration and edited and compiled a consolidation of important legal agreements, treaties and instruments of Caricom.”
“Mr. Justice Pollard was part of an elite team that worked towards the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice. No doubt he would have played a lead role in drafting the agreements, instruments and legislation that created the Court, including the rules of that Court,” Nandlall said.
The AG noted that soon after the Court was established, Pollard was appointed a Judge of the Court. This is because he was considered suitably qualified to sit in its original treaty jurisdiction. However, Pollard also sat as a Judge in the Appellate jurisdiction of that Court.
“I had the privilege of appearing before him in both jurisdictions of that Court. I will take the liberty of saying that he acquitted himself well as a member of the Caribbean’s highest Court. Upon his retirement he took up a post with the University of Guyana as a lecturer of law in the Department of Law. It is during this stint that he was conferred with a Professorship. To his grieving family, friends and colleagues, I offer my deepest condolences.”
Legal career
Pollard received his secondary education at Queen’s College (Guyana), after which he took the BA (Hons) and the LL.B (Hons) degrees from the University of London. He followed these with Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from both McGill and New York Universities. The Judge is also: the holder of the Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School; a member of the Bars of Guyana and Jamaica; and a Fellow of the Centre for International and Comparative Law of McGill University.
Over the years, Justice Pollard established himself as an expert jurist in international law, specialising in international economic law, the Law of the Sea, international institutional law, the Law of Treaties, general integration law and economic integration law. He also taught at the University of Guyana, as a Professor of Law.
From 1970 to 1974, Justice Pollard served as Minister-Counsellor in the Guyana Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Over the period 1972-1974, he was Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana and acted as Permanent Secretary in that Ministry. Justice Pollard was also Legal Advisor to the International Bauxite Association from 1974 to 1982, and, as of 1984, consultant on diverse international law projects for the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Caribbean Law Institute and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat. His career within the Caricom Secretariat includes the post of Officer-in-Charge, Legal & Institutional Development Division (1996-2002) and Director of the Caricom Legislative Drafting Facility (2003 to 2005), before his elevation to the Bench of the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Apart from holding representational posts in numerous and varied international conferences, Justice Pollard has written extensively on a multiplicity of aspects of international law and has participated in the drafting of many important Caricom instruments, including the original and revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and many of the agreements and protocols that pertain specifically to the Caribbean Court of Justice. He has authored a significant body of studies, articles, monographs, and draft treaties and legislation, constituting an impressive opus of reference material.
Pollard was married to Donna née Grant. He demitted office as Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice on June 10, 2010.
