Former Trinidad and Tobago president Paula-Mae Weekes will deliver the Cayman Islands Judiciary’s 2026 Distinguished Guest Lecture on 28 September.
Weekes, who served as president of Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2023, will speak on judicial independence, professional ethics and accountability.
Her lecture titled, ‘When the robes come off: Judicial independence, ethics and accountability – A cautionary tale’, will examine issues at the intersection of those areas.
Weekes entered the judiciary in Trinidad and Tobago in 1996 when she was appointed a puisne judge of the Supreme Court.
She spent nine years in the trial courts, predominantly handling criminal matters, before being appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2005.
She served as a justice of appeal until her retirement in 2016. She subsequently joined the appellate bench of the Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands, becoming the first woman to serve in that capacity.
Weekes has also been involved in judicial education across the Caribbean and is a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute.
The Distinguished Guest Lecture Series dates to 2011, when the first lecture was delivered by Sir Matthew Thorpe, a renowned English family law judge.
The series has since featured senior members of the international judiciary, including Lord Mance, who delivered the fifth annual lecture in 2015.
Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, delivered the 2024 lecture on artificial intelligence in the legal profession.
The series is now the premier event hosted by the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Education Institute.
The institute was launched in October 2022 to centralise training and development for the judiciary, legal profession and court staff.
The Distinguished Guest Lecture provides a forum for examining legal issues and developments.
This year’s lecture will begin at 3pm in Court 1 at the Law Courts in Heroes Square. A reception will follow the lecture. People wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by 21 September.
