Tonight, Belize's new Chief Justice, Louise Blenman has been sworn in. The Guyanese born jurist was appointed by the Governor General amidst some controversy locally, because she replaces a Belizean, Justice Michelle Arana - who had been acting Chief Justice for 2 years. But, Arana never applied for the post of Chief Justice and Blenman got the nod from a group pf 8 applicants. She is a Caribbean jurist with over 33 years in the legal profession across the region, including 10 years as a Justice of Appeal on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Today in Belmopan, she was sworn in by the Governor General Froyla Salam - and gave an address saying she feels right at home in Belize:
Louise Blenman, Chief Justice
"I am Guyanese by birth, inclusion by naturalization and Caribbean by inclination. I am a Caribbean woman jurist. Similarly, Belize is Caribbean and therefore we have that in common. I am greatly honoured to be given the opportunity to serve the people of Belize as chief justice. I shall use my best efforts to improve the administration of justice in Belize. I am committed to ensuring that most important court users namely the litigants are provided with easy access to justice that is fair, independent and efficient. A high functioning administration of justice is critical to the maintenance on any democratic society. I am looking forward to contributing significantly to the reforms of the justice system which are aimed at improving the quality and timeliness of delivery of justice in Belize. Even though this is my first time here, I already feel at home and from what I've seen so far, Belize reminds me of Guyana, the country of my birth. I anticipate a high level of collegiality and commitment from hard working judicial offices who will continue to give of their best in serving the litigants."
And as Michelle Arana debits office, she made a Facebook Post saying "I wish to thank God for the opportunity to serve Belize as the Acting Chief Justice since April 2020. With His divine help, and with the cooperation and support of my Judicial colleagues and staff at all levels of the courts, I have managed to steer the administration of Justice in Belize through the Covid 19 pandemic, shortage of Judicial personnel, and many other crises. I thank all the international donor agencies for their support in providing resources to strengthen the administration of Justice. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Belize in a different capacity when I am elevated to the Court of Appeal in the next few weeks….Congratulations and best wishes to CJ Blenman."
