Fifteen years before reaching the mandatory retirement age, Appellate Court judge Justice Vasheist Kokaram has demitted office to take up a judicial appointment in The Bahamas.
His early departure from the bench marks a significant transition in his legal career, as he moves to continue his service within the regional judiciary.
On Friday, members of the local judiciary gathered for a special sitting of the Court of Appeal in honour of Justice Kokaram.
Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh noted that the Court of Appeal judge would be continuing his work in The Bahamas.
“Our immediate loss will be the region’s gain. I dare say even the Commonwealth, as he is well known all over the Commonwealth as an expert in alternative dispute resolution. He has so much still to do and I am confident that he will continue to find myriad ways to serve the Judiciary and the wider public of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Justice Kokaram became an acting judge in 2006, was appointed to the bench in 2009, and to the appellate court in 2020.
Fellow Appeal Court Judge Prakash Moosai said that, in addition to being an excellent judge, Justice Kokaram was an avid sportsman.
“One might borrow, slightly adapted, the immortal words of CLR James ‘What does Vash knows of cricket? Only Vash knows.’ Yet even that sporting enthusiasm pales beside his commitment to the law and to legal education. Following in his parents’ footsteps, Justice Kokaram has given generously of his time to the Hugh Wooding Law School.”
Justice Kokaram said after the announcement of his retirement that tributes came flooding in. He also had a word of counsel for his colleagues.
“How can our judging, how can our lawyering be more humane, more human? The search for the humanist judge and the humanist lawyer is something that Justice Krishna Ayer had mentioned should be one of our ambitions, to realise a system of justice that is socially sensitive to empower disputants to regain autonomy over joint futures and, by so doing, build trust in our institutions of peace.”
Justice Kokaram will take up a post on the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas in the coming months.