Edward Alexander Bannister CMG KC (born 12 August 1942) is the former Commercial Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court based in 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 ...

. He was appointed in 2009, and was the first ever person to hold the post.

Life

Bannister was born on 12 August 1942, the son of Edward Bannister and Antonina Bannister. He was educated at

St John's School, Leatherhead Seek those things which are above , established = , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent school Co-educational day, weekly and flexi boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , p ...

and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

. He became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

practising in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he was regarded as one of the more able senior barristers. As counsel he appeared before the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

in . During his appointment Justice Bannister has handed down a number of decisions which have helped to reshape British Virgin Islands commercial law, including creating the jurisdiction for "Black Swan" orders and reformulating the basis for minority prejudice relief. Justice Bannister also heard the various first instance claims relating to the Bernie Madoff fraud claims in the British Virgin Islands. Justice Bannister is a relatively bold judge in terms of treatment of judicial precedent: :* In ''Zanotti v Interlog Finance Corp.'' he declined to follow the clear English common law rules set down in ''Exeter Football Club v Football Conference'' (although ''Exeter'' was later overturned in United Kingdom in ''Fulham Football Club (1987) Ltd v Richard''). :* In ''Re C (a bankrupt)'', Justice Bannister partially overturned his own previous ruling in ''Picard v Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC'' holding, with regret, that he now believed his earlier decision had been wrong in certain respects. :* In '' Nilon Limited v Royal Westminster Investments S.A.'' he once again declined to follow English Court of Appeal authority in ''Re Hoicrest Ltd'' and was again vindicated when the Privy Council adopted his approach and overruled ''Re Hoicrest''. Bannister retired from his post in 2015. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

Offices

References

21st-century lawyers British Virgin Islands lawyers British Virgin Islands judges Living people People educated at St John's School, Leatherhead Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court justices Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British judges of international courts and tribunals 1942 births 20th-century English lawyers {{BritishVirginIslands-bio-stub