Justice Bernard paved way for women to join legal fraternity – Guyana Supreme Court

Tributes to the late Justice (rtd) Desiree Bernard continue to pour in, with Guyana’s Supreme Court of Judicature honouring her as a trailblazer who paved the way for women to join and excel in the legal fraternity.
In a release issued hours after her passing on Thursday, the Supreme Court of Judicature highlighted that the life of the late Justice Bernard, who had served as Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Guyana Judiciary, reflected deep care for humanity, and that she epitomised service above self.
Among the many expressions of tribute to the late Justice Bernard are that her many accomplishments, passion for the law, and contribution to the bar are legendary, and that the Supreme Court of Judicature of Guyana would cherish and honour her work in all future endeavours.
Justice Bernard was, in February 2023, conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Guyana for her distinguished service to the legal system and public service. She is often referred to as the first female to break glass ceilings in the field of law.
That honorary degree was initially conferred on Justice Bernard in absentia in December 2022, when the university held a convocation ceremony for its Tain, Berbice campus, but it was presented to her in March 2023 in Trinidad.
Justice Bernard read for a Bachelor of Laws at the University of London, and graduated with honours in 1963. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1964, she embarked on private practice in the Supreme Court of Guyana from 1965 to 1980.
During that period, she was appointed a magistrate (1970), Commissioner of Oaths & Notary Public (1976), and was admitted to the English Roll of Solicitors (1977).
Justice Bernard next established several professional “firsts” in 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 the Commonwealth Caribbean (1996); and the first female Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and in the Commonwealth Caribbean (2001). She took the oath of office as a Judge of the CCJ at that court’s inauguration ceremony on Saturday, April 16, 2005.
During her long and distinguished career, Justice Bernard 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); and member and Chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for Women’s Affairs, later established as the Women & Development Unit of the University of the West Indies (WAND – 1978).
Internationally, she 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.
Moreover, she 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 had received several awards, the most notable being the Cacique Crown of Honour, and the Order of Roraima, Guyana’s third and second-highest national awards respectively.
In July 2005, she 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.