Gillian Lucky (born 1967) is a Justice of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Judicature for Trinidad and Tobago. She was previously a High Court Judge, Director of the Police Complaints Authority, and a Member of Parliament for
Pointe-à-Pierre
Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only) oil refinery which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-ow ...
.
Early life
Lucky is the daughter of
Anthony Lucky Anthony Amos Lucky (born 11 May 1940) is a judge of the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. As a retired Court of Appeal Judge, Anthony served in the legal system of Trinidad and Tobago as a magistrate for ten years prior ...
and Cintra Lucky. She has three siblings, Cindy Ann Lucky, Elizabeth Lucky and Antonia Lucky. She is a former competitive
LLB
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 ...
Hugh Wooding Law School
The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago.
History
Named for Trinidad and Tobago jurist and politician Hugh Wooding, HWLS is one of three law schools empowered by the (Caribbean) Council of Legal Education to award ...
, receiving 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 ...
, and was called to the bar in 1991. She started her legal career working as an associate for De Nobriga, Inniss & Company in Port of Spain.
In 1993, Lucky became Senior State Counsel at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She prosecuted cases at the Magistrates’ Court of Trinidad and Tobago, including the trial of Nankissoon Boodram. Lucky also lectured in business law and assisted with the distance learning programme at UWI from 1990 to 2001. She also formerly held the position of Principal at the Academy of Tertiary Studies (ATS).
Member of Parliament
She joined the
Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is compose ...
as a Government Senator from 12 January 2001 to 1 February 2001, when she became a Minister for the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs until 24 December 2001. She then served as an opposition member for the Senate from 5 April 2002 to 28 August 2002.
Lucky was then elected to the House of Representatives as an opposition
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for
Pointe-à-Pierre
Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only) oil refinery which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-ow ...
between 17 October 2002 and 28 September 2007. She originally ran as a member of the
United National Congress
The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a ...
but in April 2005, she became an independent UNC member and in September 2006, she joined the new Congress of the People party. She was also the chairman of the Omnibus Legislation Committee, Chairman of the Committee for the Regularization of the Home Video Industry and a Member of the Crime and Justice Commission.
Director of the Police Complaints Authority
Lucky was the first Director of the Police Complaints Authority from December 2010 to 2 September 2014. She led investigations into an accident at Sea Lots, the police shooting of three Moruga residents in July 2011, and the running of the New Flying Squad unit.
It is an independent body formed to investigate criminal offences involving police officers, police corruption and serious police misconduct and for other related matters. No member of the Police Complaints Authority’s staff is attached to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Special Reserve Police or Municipal Police Force. The mandates of the PCA are outlined within the Police Complaints Authority Act.
Media work
Lucky has written as a columnist with the ''
Trinidad and Tobago Guardian
The ''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'' (together with the ''Sunday Guardian'') is the oldest daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. The paper is considered the newspaper of record for Trinidad and Tobago.
History
Its first edition was published ...
''. She was also the host of a television show, ''Just Gill'', on
ieTV
Inspirational Exciting Television (shortened to ieTV or internationally as ieTVTT; formerly Indian Entertainment Television) is a cable television station in Trinidad and Tobago and was the first Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian cable station ...
Channel 1 network, which is centered on discussion of national issues and interests. In the past, she co-hosted a radio segment, "Talk Time," on Radio 90.5FM, and is the former presenter and co-executive producer of the television programme, ''Caribbean Tarang''.
Jurist
She was a temporary High Court judge from October 2009 to September 2010. Justice Lucky was sworn in as a permanent High Court puisine judge on 8 September 2014 by President
Anthony Carmona
Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona (born 7 March 1953) is a Trinidadian politician who was the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago, from 2013 to 2019. Previously he was a High Court Judge at the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago, and he served ...
. She became chairman of the Judicial Education Institute in January 2019.
On 27 January 2020, she was appointed a Justice of Appeal by President
Paula-Mae Weekes
Paula-Mae Weekes (born 23 December 1958) is a Trinidadian politician and jurist who is the sixth president of Trinidad and Tobago. She is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the second female head of state in Trinidad an ...