Sir Burton P. C. Hall, (born December 10, 1947 in

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

) is a Judge of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. He is the presiding judge in the case of the
Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović
'. He previously served as a Judge of the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

, a position he was elected to in August, 2009. Hall served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Bahamas on 1 February 1991 and then as a Justice of Court of Appeal of The Bahamas from April 1997. On 5 September 2001 he was confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Bahamas (''de facto'' head of the

judiciary of the Bahamas The basis of the Bahamian Law and legal system lies within the English Common Law tradition. Justices of the Supreme Court, Registrars and Magistrates are all appointed by The Governor-General acting on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Servi ...

), a position he occupied until 2009.

Education

Hall received his early education at St John's College High School, Nassau, The Bahamas, graduating in 1964, then returning in 1965 to pursue

GCE Advanced Level 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 ...

. He received an

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 ...

degree with upper-second-class honours from 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 ...

in 1974. and then attended the

Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The Council was established in 1852 by the Inns ...

(

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

) at 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 ...

in Mona,

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 ...

where he graduated in 1976 with a Certificate in Legal Education.

Career

Hall was admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas on October 6, 1976, and then practised as an Assistant Counsel at the Office of the Attorney-General of The Bahamas. He was appointed to act as a Stipendiary and Circuit Magistrate from August, 1978, to August, 1980. He then returned to the Office of the Attorney-General and was elevated to Crown Counsel. He became Acting Solicitor-General of The Bahamas in 1983, being confirmed to the post in 1984. He was appointed Chairman of the 1998 National Crime Commission of The Bahamas and on 4 August 1999 was appointed as the first Bahamian judge on the Inter-American Development Bank Administration Tribunal. In 2002, he became a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Institute,

Dalhousie University School of Law Dalhousie ( ) may refer to: Buildings *Dalhousie Castle, a castle near Bonnyrigg, Scotland *Dalhousie Obelisk, a monument in Empress Place, Singapore *Dalhousie Station (Montreal), a former passenger rail station in Montreal, Quebec *Dalhousie sta ...

. Hall is a member of the

Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Commonwealth Lawyers Association The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is an organisation of lawyers, law societies and bar associations across the Commonwealth of Nations. The association hosts a conference in a member nation of the commonwealth biennially. History ...

and the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

, and holds associate membership in the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

(Associate Member) and the

Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in Canadian French, French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annu ...

(Associate Member).

Honours and awards

Hall was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 2001, and in 2003 he was appointed a Knight of the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

(KSS) by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In 2009, he was enrolled as a Knight of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

, also a papal order of knighthood, and currently holds the rank of Knight Commander with Star In 2004, Hall was awarded the Pelican Alumni Peer award as outstanding alumnus of the

, Cave Hill Campus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Burton P. C. 1947 births Living people Chief justices of the Bahamas International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia judges International Law Commission officials People from Nassau, Bahamas University of the West Indies alumni Knights Bachelor Knights of the Holy Sepulchre People associated with the Norman Manley Law School Bahamian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals