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Cayman Judiciary to contributeto advanced Legal Research and Study
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie
Two renowned seats of advanced legal studiesin the UK have extended recognition to the growing stature ofCayman's jurisprudence, with, respectively, an offer of membershipand an invitation to serve as patron to the Islands' Chief Justice.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, QC, has been made an honorary lifefellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies and a patronof a new law journal published by Oxford University's Facultyof Law.
The Society for Advanced Legal Studies comprises scholars, practitionersand those involved in the administration of justice from the UKand around the world.
Its objectives are to promote and facilitate legal research atan advanced level and, in particular, to engender greater collaborationbetween scholars and those involved in the practice of law. Thesociety seeks to achieve these objectives through a number ofinitiatives, including organising and supporting specialised workinggroups, lectures and conferences.
The aim of the Oxford Journal of Commonwealth Law is to providea forum for discussion of legal topics of interest throughoutthe Commonwealth and to be a flagship of the Oxford postgraduatestudent community.
The Chief Justice and other patrons will constitute a pan-Commonwealthnetwork upon which the editorial board of the publication cancall for ideas and support. Patrons will advise on policy or directionof the journal, or they may be asked to referee articles submittedfor publication.
"One of our main hopes is that patrons will help us to identifykey issues and trends in the law, drawing upon their areas ofexpertise and knowledge of their own and surrounding jurisdictions,"said Mr. Steven Elliott, writing to Chief Justice Smellie on behalfof several post-graduate editors of the new journal.
Commenting on both appointments, the Chief Justice said: "Iwould like to believe that this is a signal recognition of theemerging importance of the Cayman Islands, particularly in termsof jurisprudence." He added that local judgements were nowbeing researched and cited by different external law entities.
The Chief Justice's involvement in these two respects will beaimed at contributing to advancing the process of research andthe development of law, on behalf of the jurisdiction and, specifically,of the local judiciary. He said that Human Rights, in particular,were among emerging local and international issues.
The Chief Justice joins some 250 legal and judicial scholars,practitioners and administrators who serve as honorary life fellowsof the Society for Advanced Legal Studies.
Members include the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, MP, Britain's Prime Minister;the Lord Chancellor; the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales;and the president of the International Court of Justice, amongother eminent persons from around the world.
Professor Barry Rider, who is director of the Institute of AdvancedLegal Studies of the University of London, chairs the society'sexecutive committee. Its executive council, made up of 30 members,is presided over by the Rt. Hon. Lord Steyn, a member of the judicialcommittees of the House of Lord and the Privy Council.