Privy Council pays tribute to Sir Fenton

Regional legal luminary Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, QC, was remembered on Wednesday by judges of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for his contribution to the development of public law in TT and across the Commonwealth.

In a tribute, Lady Hale, Lady Black, Lords Kerr, Lloyd-Jones and Briggs said Sir Fenton “will be sorely missed” by the board of the JCPC and colleagues both in the UK and the Caribbean.

The Law Lords’ tribute was given at the end of the hearing of a Jamaican human-rights case. A notice from the JCPC said Sir Fenton’s contribution to the development of the law in TT and the Commonwealth was unparalleled.

Lady Hale said on his death in December, at 89, he was justifiably described as a legal luminary and a great asset to the Caribbean.

She spoke of his 59-year long legal career, after he was called to the Bar in the UK, Guyana – where he was born – TT, Barbados, Jamaica, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). He was also distinguished for making the most appearances at the Privy Council and between 1964 and 2016, he appeared at least 78 times as lead counsel.

Most of his cases were from TT, leading former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, Hale said, in the fight for constitutional rights. She cited what she said was his most famous case, the claim of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha challenging the Order of the Trinity (Trinity Cross) which was deemed discriminatory and resulted in this country’s highest award being changed to the Order of the Republic (ORTT). “I remember the charm and generosity with which he would open the case for appellant and then cede the podium to his junior, much to his junior’s surprise,” Lady Hale said.

She said Sir Fenton’s most recent case before them was in 2016 in a case out of the BVI.

“He was a man of many parts,” she said as she spoke of his educational background, having attained a bachelor of arts, his law degree and masters from the University of London as well as a PhD in comparative land law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, which led to his writing a textbook – The Development of Land Law in British Guiana – which is still used by practitioners there, she said.

Lady Hale also noted his strong support for the development of legal education in the Caribbean, having served at the Hugh Wooding Law School, and leading the independence movement in Guyana. He was the first Attorney General of that country and served as an MP for several years.