<<< Judge Burton Hall takes the oath of office during a ceremony to mark his appointment to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Nassau, Bahamas – President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Patrick Robinson, described Judge Burton Hall’s contributions to the justice system of The Bahamas as “invaluable” and said his election as a permanent judge rewards his “illustrious” career in the public service.
]“I have no doubt that he will also contribute immeasurably to the international community as a judge of this Tribunal. I am indeed grateful for his undertaking of this service.”
Judge Hall thanked the Government of The Bahamas for its support and for “releasing” him. He also thanked the international community for his appointment.
“I trust that the work that I have done before would indeed enable me to fulfill the awesome responsibilities attendant upon the work of this Tribunal,” he said.
“As I am minded to say in terms of my previous experience at the end of the day it’s only work. But there is obviously a lot of work to do. So I look forward to beginning as soon as possible.
Bahamas Press has breaking news however , which suggests that Hall will only serve on the Court until October 2010. At this time, Hall will be back in Nassau looking for a job! VELL MUDDOS! So was he pressured to leave the Supreme Court, or was he so sick and tired of MUGABE meddling in the affairs of the judiciary, that he could not take it anymore! BP believes this to be the case!
The former Chief Justice of The Bahamas was one of three permanent Judges to take their oath of office and make the solemn declaration at a special ceremony in The Hague, September 2, where the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is based.
Judges Guy Delvoie of Belgium and Howard Morrison of the United Kingdom were also sworn in. They were appointed by Secretary–General Ban Ki-Moon and have replaced Judges Christine Van Den Wyngaert, Lord Iain Bonomy and Mohamed Shahabuddeen.
Established in 1993, the ICTY was set up to try persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.
Judge Hall served for eight years as Chief Justice of The Bahamas. He resigned as Head of the Judiciary on August 23, 2009.
He received the LLB degree with honors from the UWI Cave Hill Campus in Barbados and in 2004 he was awarded the Pelican Alumni Peer award as outstanding alumnus of that university.
Shortly thereafter he received a Legal Education certificate from the Counsel of Legal Education of the West Indies. In 2002 he also completed the program of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute at Dalhousie University School of Law in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada and became a Fellow of that Institute.
Judge Hall began his public service career in The Bahamas in 1968 serving as a probation officer and clerk in the House of Assembly.
He served in the office of the Attorney General first as an assistant counsel from 1976 to 1983 and then as Solicitor General from 1983 to 1990.
In 1990 he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court and served in this capacity from 1991 to 1997 presiding over criminal, civil, constitutional and family matters.
In 1997 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal where he served as Justice of Appeal until 2001. In 1998 as Justice of Appeal he was appointed Chairman of the National Crime Commission. He was made Chief Justice of The Bahamas in 2001.
In addition to his judicial duties, Judge Hall has served as course director in Constitutional Law and Legal Systems at the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas.
