7 News Belize

Judge Brother Barrow
posted (October 31, 2019)

Today's CAJO conference gave us an opportunity to catch up with Justice Denys Barrow. In June of 2017, he left private practice as an attorney in Belize when he was sworn in as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Back in his lawyer days, he was a regular presence on the news,  as government's attorney in the seemingly unending litigation between the Barrow Administration and the Ashcroft Alliance. 

But, 2 years have passed since his elevation to the highest court in the Region. So, we wondered what the experience has been like. Here's what he had to say about it:

Hon. Denys Barrow - CCJ Judge
"It has been a very enriching experience, very humbling and very satisfying. I am doing what I obviously love to do, I've always love to do this and the work is interesting, the persons with whom I work. Both my fellow judges as well as the staff of the CCJ make it really pleasant and a sort of contentment."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir what has changed from your days when you would dawn your robes as senior counsel to now, the robes of the judge?"

Hon. Denys Barrow
"The greater responsibility, when you are counsel, you are argued the side of your client vigorously, fully not perhaps excessively but that was your obligation because it was the adversarious system where the lawyer on the other side had responsibility of arguing his or her client's case against you. As a judge, you have the responsibility of seeing things in balance, of dealing fairly, equally with all litigants, all counsel and conveying to people, conveying to the society that what you are doing is delivering fair, equal and respectful justice to everybody."

Daniel Ortiz
"No sir you have the distinct honour of being the first Belizean to be elevated to this regional court. That must be a big accomplishment for you personally."

Hon. Denys Barrow
"It is absolutely a great accomplishment for me personally but I see it really as an accomplishment for Belize and I see it as an accomplishment for practitioners across the region to know, to think that they can strive hard as lawyers, become the best that they can be and then know that there is the possibility of they going even further beyond their own local domestic jurisdictions and becoming a member of the regional court or as I had done before, become a member of even another court in the region a part from beyond your own country."

Justice Barrow tells us that he has only had brief moments to catch up with his family, and he has brought work home to Belize.

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