New Chief Justice of Belize Louise Blenman sworn in

By Aaron Humes: Governor-General Froyla Tzalam is swearing in the new Chief Justice of Belize, the Honorable Louise Blenman, in ceremonies at Belize House, Belmopan.

Chief Justice Blenman officially succeeds countryman Kenneth Benjamin, who retired in March of 2020, and is officially Belize’s first female Chief Justice. Michelle Arana acted as Chief Justice in the interregnum but elected not to apply for the substantive post. She will be elevated to the Court of Appeal as a member of that court.

The new Chief Justice will be the first to preside over all of the Judiciary under the revised Senior Courts Act, which unifies the Supreme (High) Court of Belize and the Court of Appeal. Minnet Hafiz-Bertram continues to act as President of the Court of Appeal but is now subordinate to Chief Justice Blenman.

Chief Justice Louise Esther Blenman graduated from the University of the West Indies in 1986 with a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B.) with Upper Second Class Honours. She later obtained the Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad in 1988. She was called to the Bar in Guyana, in 1988. Justice Blenman obtained the Masters of Law Degree (LL.M.) with merit from the University of London.

Chief Justice Blenman has served in a variety of senior legal and judicial positions in the region in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Anguilla. She was most recently a Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which serves nine states and territories.

She, therefore, brings a wealth of experience having sat as a High Court judge for 9 years and a Justice of Appeal for 10 years in the region.

Breaking Belize News formally welcomes the new Chief Justice and wishes her the best in her time here in Belize.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.

© 2022, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.