Cherno Sulayman Jallow KC (born 15 November 1962) is a Gambian lawyer and judge who serves as a Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Gambia The Supreme Court of the Gambia is a superior court of record and the highest court in The Gambia. Established in 1851, it has appellate and original jurisdiction over any law exceeding the powers conferred by the Constitution or any law upon th ...

. He previously served as

Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the British Virgin Islands. Under the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands the Attorney General sits ''ex officio'' in both the House of ...

from 1999 to 2007.

Early life and education

Jallow was born in the village of Old Yundum, Kombo North. His father was from Old Yundum too, with his mother from

Brufut {{Infobox settlement , official_name =Brufut, The Gambia, West Africa. , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = ...

. When he had to be registered for school, he moved in with his grandparents in Brufut as they lived closer to a primary school. In Brufut, he regularly attended Quranic school under the teacher of his grandfather. After primary school, he gained admission to

Armitage High School Armitage Senior Secondary School is a high school located in Janjanbureh, in the Gambia. Armitage a boarding school, is one of the oldest schools in the Gambia. It was established in 1927 by Governor Cecil Hamilton Armitage in Georgetown. After W ...

Janjanbureh Janjanbureh or Jangjangbureh is a town, founded in 1832, on Janjanbureh Island, also known as MacCarthy Island, in the Gambia River in eastern Gambia. Until 1995, it was known as Georgetown and was the second largest town in the country. It is th ...

, studying there from 1975 to 1980, and graduating with

O-Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

. He then attended Saint Augustine's High School in

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

for two years, graduating with

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in 1982. He worked as a teacher at Sukuta Technical School in the intervening period before he went to study law at the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي اسلام انتارابڠسا مليسيا; ar, الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية بمال ...

from 1984 to 1988, graduating with a second class upper. He went on to further studies, completing a Certificate in Legislative Drafting at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in 1989, and completed a master's degree there in Legislative Drafting and Public Law in 1994.

Early career

Jallow was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the

in 1988. From August 1988 to November 1990, he worked as a state counsel in the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

's Office, with a particular focus on criminal prosecution. From December 1990 to December 1991, Jallow worked as Assistant Legal Draftsman, responsible for drafting legislation as well as undertaking some criminal and civil litigation. He became the Acting Legal Draftsman in January 1992, and was officially confirmed in the role in May. In February 1994, he became the Acting Parliamentary Counsel, and was again confirmed in the role in May that year.

British Virgin Islands

In October 1995, Jallow was appointed as Parliamentary Counsel in the Attorney General's Chambers on the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, to serve until October 1999. His responsibilities included providing legal advice to government ministries, attending meetings of the Legislative Council to advise on legislative measures, and holding conferences to discuss issues pertaining to the law, especially relating to policy creation. On 1 November 1999, Jallow was appointed as Acting

, and was confirmed in this role on 22 February 2000. Jallow stepped down in 2007 to take up a position as Director of Policy, Research and Statistics with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission. He was described by Governor

David Pearey David Pearey (born 15 July 1948) was the Governor of the British Virgin Islands, Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 18 April 2006 to 5 August 2010. He was appointed by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II on the advi ...

as "an outstanding member of the Executive Council." Jallow was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) of the British Virgin Islands bar in 2007, although he is not admitted to practice as a lawyer in the jurisdiction, as the Attorney General is exempt from admission requirements that apply to other lawyers in the territory. Jallow served as chairman of the

Caribbean Financial Action Task Force The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is an organization of states and territories of the Caribbean Basin that have agreed to implement common counter-measures against money laundering. CFATF has associate status within the Financial Ac ...

for its 2012 to 2013 term. In September 2015, he was also appointed to the BVI International Arbitration Centre Board.

Supreme Court justice

Jallow was appointed as a Justice of the

on 28 April 2017 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

Constitutional Review Commission

Justice Jallow was designated Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission by the Chief Justice of the Republic of The Gambia, Hon. Hassan B Jallow, and he took up the appointment in March, 2018. The Commission comprises ten other commissioners and it is tasked to review the current Constitution of The Gambia with a view to drafting a new one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jallow, Cherno 21st-century British Virgin Islands lawyers Living people Gambian emigrants to the British Virgin Islands Attorneys general of the British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands Queen's Counsel International Islamic University Malaysia alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of the Gambia University of the West Indies alumni 1962 births