The Chief Justice of Belize is the head of the

Supreme Court of Belize Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

. Under Chapter 7 of the

Constitution of Belize The Constitution of Belize is the supreme law of the nation of Belize. It was signed on September 1981 with effect from that date. Structure The Constitution of Belize, Chapter 4 of the Laws of Belize, is divided into a preamble, 13 parts and f ...

, the Chief Justice is appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

on the advice of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Since the retirement of

Kenneth Benjamin Kenneth Charlie Griffith Benjamin (born 8 April 1967) is a former cricketer from Antigua and Barbuda who played 26 Tests and 26 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. Playing career A right arm fast bowler, Benjamin spent much of his i ...

in March 2020, Michelle Arana was the acting Chief Justice of Belize.

Louise Blenman Louise Esther Blenman is a former Appellate Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the current Chief Justice of Belize. She was the first woman to ever be appointed to the post. On 22nd November 2022, she was sworn in as the first Chie ...

was appointed to fill the vacancy in September 2022.

List of Chief Justices

The full list as published by the

Attorney General of Belize The Attorney-General of Belize is a Cabinet of Belize, cabinet-level official who acts as the principal legal adviser to the government of Belize. Overview The position of AG is outlined in Section 42 of the Constitution of Belize, which require ...

: # Robert Temple Esq., 1843–1861

British Honduras (1862-1973)

# Richard J. Connor, 1862 # William Alexander Parker, 1875–1881 #Sir Henry Rawlins Pipon Schooles, 1881 (later Administrator of Grenada, 1887 and

Attorney General of Jamaica Attorney General of Jamaica is the chief law officer in Jamaica. Section 79(1) of the Constitution of Jamaica states that "there shall be an Attorney General who shall be the principal legal adviser to the Government of Jamaica" and pursuant to ...

, 1896) # William Anthony Musgrave Sheriff, 1883–1886 #Sir William Meigh Goodman, 1886–1889 #Sir William John Anderson, 1890–1900 (afterwards

Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago The Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago is the highest judge of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and presides over its Supreme Court of Judicature. He is appointed by a common decision of the President of Trinidad and Tobago, president, the Prim ...

, 1900) #Sir Walter Llewellyn Lewis, 1900–1906 #

Frederic Mackenzie Maxwell Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

, 1906–1911 (afterwards

Chief Justice of the Leeward Islands The chief justice of the Leeward Islands headed the Supreme Court of the Leeward Islands. The British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisted of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, S ...

, 1912) # Sir Walter Sidney Shaw, 1912–1914 # Sir Robert Blair Roden, 1915–1921 #

Herbert Kortright McDonnell Sisnett Sir Herbert Kortright McDonnell Sisnett (1862–3 June 1937) was a British lawyer and colonial judge. The son of G. W. Sisnett, Rector of St George's, Barbados, Sisnett was educated in Barbados at The Lodge School and Harrison College, before be ...

, 1922–1931 #

Charles Wilton Wood Greenidge Charles Wilton Wood Greenidge was the vice president of the Anti-Slavery Society in 1968. He was secretary of the society from 1941-1956 and director from 1957–1958. Early life Greenidge was born on 10 January 1889 in the parish of St Jam ...

, 1932–1936 #Sir

Arthur Kirwan Agar Sir Arthur Kirwan Agar (31 August 1877 – July 1942) was a British barrister and colonial judge. He was Chief Justice of British Honduras from 1936 to 1940. Biography Agar was the son of solicitor Edward Larpent Agar, of Milford House, Milfor ...

, 1936–1940 #Sir

Carleton George Langley Sir Carleton George Langley (21 May 1885 – 11 November 1963) was a British lawyer and colonial judge. He was the Chief Justice of British Honduras from 1940 to 1948. Biography The elder son of George Langley, of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, Carl ...

, 1940–1947 # Frederick Malcolm Boland, 1948–1949 #Sir Alfred Victor Crane, 1950–1954 # Erskine Rueul La Tourette Ward, 1955–1957 # Sir Clifford De Lisle Inniss, 1957–1972

Belize (1973–)

# Arthur Richard Franklin Dickson, 1973–1974 #Sir Denis Eustace Gilbert Malone, 1974–1979 # Albert L. Staine, CBE, 1979–1982 # George C. R. Moe, QC, 1982–1985 #* George N. Brown, acting 1985–1986 # Taufik Cotran, CBE, 1986–1990 #Sir George N. Brown, 1990–1998 # George Singh, 1998 # Manuel Sosa, CBE, SC, 1998–1999 #* John Troadio Gonzalez, acting 1999–2000 #Dr.

Abdulai Osman Conteh Abdulai Osman Conteh (born 5 August 1945) is a lawyer and politician from Sierra Leone. He is a former vice president of Sierra Leone, who served under President Joseph Saidu Momoh before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Conteh later ...

, 2000–2010 #* Samuel Awich, acting 2010–2011 #

, 2011-2020 #* Michelle Arana, acting 2020-2022 #

, 2022-Present

References

{{British dependencies chief justices, state=collapsed Belize and the Commonwealth of Nations 1843 establishments in the British Empire