Cheryl Krusen (''née'' Cheryl Thompson) is a Caribbean lawyer. A

dual national Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, she has served in legal positions in various countries for three decades.

Career

Krusen's earlier career took her through various positions both on the bench and before it, as crown counsel in the Office of the Director of Prosecutions of Belize, beginning in 1980 as a magistrate for

Belize District Belize District is a district of the nation of Belize. Its capital is Belize City. Geography Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Amberg ...

and then

Corozal District Corozal District is the northernmost district of the nation of Belize. The population was 33,894 in 2000. The district capital is Corozal Town. Pre-Columbian Maya ruins are found in Corozal at Santa Rita near Corozal Town, and at Cerros. Town ...

, deputy registrar of the Supreme Court of Jamaica; senior legal officer at the

Port Authority of Jamaica The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) is an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Mining responsible for the: * regulation and development of Jamaica's ports and shipping industry * safety of all vessels navigating the ports of entry * regulation ...

, director of legal services at the National Housing Trust of Jamaica; legal adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives of Jamaica, and legal advisor to Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. From 2002 to 2008 she served with the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

in London, before returning to the Caribbean to take up a position as CARICOM's

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

. In July 2011, Krusen was named Solicitor-General of Belize, replacing Oscar Ramjeet. She came to wider public attention later that year when she spoke out in support of the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, which would put certain public utilities under public ownership, but more controversially would make constitutional amendments not subject to

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

. As early as September 2011, the Belize Bar Association began to come into conflict with

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 ...

Bernard Q. Pitts Bernard Quentin Augustus Pitts, , often known by his initials as B. Q. Pitts, is a Belizean politician and a member of the United Democratic Party (Belize), United Democratic Party of Belize. Career Pitts was List of Speakers of the House of Repr ...

over Krusen's positions; that month, in addition to the SG position, she was also named

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

. There was a question over her eligibility to hold the position of SG, as she did not fulfill the requirement of being enrolled for eight years as an attorney at law in Belize or elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Pitts got around this requirement by back-dating her enrollment to 1980 when she sat as a magistrate. In December 2011, the Belize Bar Association filed a formal court challenge to Krusen's eligibility.

Personal life

Krusen attended 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 ...

Cave Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados Cave Hill, St. Michael, is a suburban area situated in the parish of Saint Michael, Barbados. It is located about 4 km north-west of the capital city Bridgetown, along the west coast of Barbados. The University of the West Indies at Cave H ...

, receiving her

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1978, and went on to the

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

for her

Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Articl ...

. She also received an M.Sc. at UWI's Mona campus in 1996. She was formerly married to Dylan Barrow. She is currently married to filmmaker

Cristóbal Krusen Cristóbal Krusen is an American filmmaker and author. His early films were produced in Spanish in Latin America, including ''Ropa Nueva para Felipe'' (1990) and ''¿Con Quién Te Vas?'' (1995) followed by feature films produced in Africa, Asia, ...

; the two of them have six adult children.

Works

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krusen, Cheryl Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Belizean expatriates in the United Kingdom Jamaican expatriates in England 20th-century Jamaican lawyers Solicitors-General of Belize University of the West Indies alumni Belizean women Jamaican women lawyers People associated with the Norman Manley Law School Jamaican people of Belizean descent Belizean people of Jamaican descent 21st-century Jamaican lawyers 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers