Michael de la Bastide, KC, PC (18 July 1937 – 30 March 2024) was a Trinidad and Tobago lawyer. He was the Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 until 2002.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Michael de la Bastide
Crown Counsel in the office of the Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
November 1961 – April 1963
Senator, Republican Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
1976–1981
President of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
1987–1990
Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
31 May 1995 – 18 July 2002
Appointed byPresident Noor Hassanali
President of the Caribbean Court of Justice
In office
18 August 2004 – 18 August 2011
Personal details
Born(1937-07-18)18 July 1937
Port of Spain, Colony of Trinidad and Tobago
Died30 March 2024(2024-03-30) (aged 86)
NationalityTrinidad and Tobago citizenship
OccupationLawyer, Judge

Background

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De la Bastide attended St. Mary’s College, Port of Spain, from 1945 to 1955. He moved on to read law at Christ Church, Oxford from 1956 to 1960. He received a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) in 1959 with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Civil Law, also with First Class Honours in 1960.[1] De la Bastide died on 30 March 2024, at the age of 86.[7]

Career

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De la Bastide was Crown Counsel in the office of the Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago from 1961 till 1963. In 1975, he became a Queen's Counsel at the age of 38. He went on to serve as an Independent Senator from 1976 to 1981 in the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago. He was president of the Law Association from 1987 until 1990 prior to his appointment as Chief Justice in 1995. In 2005, he was sworn in as president of the Caribbean Court of Justice until his retirement in 2011.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Right Honourable Mr. Justice Michael de la Bastide". Caribbean Court of Justice. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Caribbean Court of Justice". ccj.org. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  3. ^ "De la Bastide on CJ impeachment". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Absence may not be bad". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  5. ^ Achong, Derek. "Jamadar heads to CCJ". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Remove Al-Rawi". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  7. ^ Prime Minister mourns death of former chief justice
  8. ^ "Saluting a distinguished career". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. ^ "CCJ's first president says a Barbados withdrawal from the court would be retrograde step". Curaçao Chronicle. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Message from the President - CCJ" (PDF).
  12. ^ Summers, Chris (3 August 2012). "Jamaica's appeal court dilemma". Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Caribbean Judiciary Meet". www.gov.ky. Retrieved 5 October 2019.