By Prior Beharry
JUSTICE of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Peter Jamadar is to receive an honorary doctorate from Emmanuel College of Canada.
A release from the CCJ on Wednesday stated that Justice Jamadar completed a Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Emmanuel College, Victoria University, in the University of Toronto in 1997.
And Emmanuel College on Monday stated that Justice Jamadar will be conferred with the degree on May 11, by Chancellor Nick Saul, a renowned food and social justice activist.
It stated, “Throughout his accomplished career, he has anchored his work in his insights from law and theology, and his desire to build equitable communities and societies.
“He has focused on human rights issues such as gender-sensitive adjudication and human trafficking, as well as strengthening the justice system for historically marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities. He is currently engaged with research on Indigenous and tribal peoples of the Caribbean, and on strengthening their rights and access to justice.”
The CCJ release stated that Justice Jamadar enjoys many interests and has many achievements extending beyond his accomplishments in the field of law.
It stated, “He is by nature curious, adventurous, and unbounded. In his experience, we live as interconnected, interrelated, intelligent, meaning-creating, and participatory living systems, in which freedom and autonomy in concert with whole system self-reference, self-determination, growth, development and transformation, are discovered and manifest through a continuous process of conscious reflection, learning, adaptation, and change.
“As such we organise and evolve in the directions of shared values and common purposes, fuelled by collective motivations and interests.
“Two main streams characterise and imbue his working life, law and theology. In both he is motivated to constructive actions towards equitable and sustainable transformation and development, of people and society.
“Philosophically inclined, education is a passion and learning a commitment. His studies have shaped his character and influenced his values and actions.”
He was admitted to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago in 1984 after completing his LLB at the Faculty of Law at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados and an LEC from the Hugh Wooding Law School.
Justice Jamadar was appointed a puisne judge in 1997 and elevated to the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago in 2008.
In 2019, he was sworn in as a Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the apex court for several Caribbean states and an international court of original jurisdiction for CARICOM treaty rights.
The release stated, “He is a regionalist, committed to the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and to the indigenization of Caribbean jurisprudence relevant and suited to unfolding Caribbean needs and evolution.
“He is also committed to global transformation, in law as well in other areas such as the environment. Human rights feature in his thinking and actions towards justice and equitable and sustainable development.
“His work in areas such as gender-sensitive adjudication, human trafficking, and with historically marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities and, very recently, with research on indigenous and tribal peoples of the Caribbean rights and access to justice, reveal the intersections of his vocations.”
It stated that his MDiv prepared him for his roles as a lay preacher and educator with the Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago.
The release stated that in 2009, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors at St Andrews Theological College, the primary theological institution of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad and Tobago, where he also served on several Committees including the Publication Committee until 2015.
He was also a member of the faculty at St Andrew’s, teaching at the undergraduate level.
The release noted that he has written numerous articles and two books –The Mechanics of Democracy in 1989 and Democracy & Constitution Reform in Trinidad and Tobago (with Dr Kirk Meighoo) in 2008.
He has also compiled and authored through the Foundation for Human Development: Glimpses (2016) and Insights (2023).
It stated that Justice Jamadar hails from a family of lawyers, stretching back three generations.
The release stated, “As a lawyer, he served on national and provincial law bodies and did pro bono work and voluntary service, including as a legal advisor to the Hope Centre, in Trinidad, a home for abused and battered children.
“His wife, Shail Pooransingh-Jamadar, is an attorney at law and former faculty at the regional Hugh Wooding Law School, in Trinidad.
“His daughter Serayah graduated from Victoria University in 2022 (BA) and is now studying law at Osgoode Hall Law School, Ontario.
“His daughter Rebekah is currently at Daniels Faculty of Architecture, University of Toronto.”
He is a certified Transpersonal Psychologist (2007) and a certified Mediator (2011). He is also a certified PADI Open Water Diver, a qualified Reiki practitioner (1st and 2nd Degrees), and a certified Swim Coach (American Swimming Coaches Association, Levels 1 and II), the release noted.
