Justice Arif Bulkan was sworn in as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) at a ceremony at the Office of the President, Georgetown, on Wednesday.
Bulkan fills the vacancy created when Justice Winston Anderson assumed the presidency of the CCJ earlier this year. He becomes the third Guyanese to serve on the regional court’s bench, following a rigorous selection process by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), which reviewed 26 applications from across the Caribbean.
President Ali said hosting the ceremony in Guyana was a powerful symbol of regional unity and pride.
“Through the Court’s seat in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, we are immensely grateful that the taking of the oath of office of the Court’s newest Judge is being held here in Guyana — the Land of Justice and home of the CARICOM headquarters,” he said.
He continued, “Guyana stands ready and able to be that foundational pillar that ensures the Caribbean Court of Justice continues to lead with distinction. Hosting this ceremony here provides a living expression of the Court’s reach and roots across the region. It reaffirms that the CCJ is not an abstraction, but a vibrant Caribbean institution sustained by Caribbean intellect and inspired by Caribbean pride.”
Justice Bulkan described his appointment as “deeply meaningful,” saying he was humbled to join a court that represents regional self-determination.
“Today’s swearing-in as a Judge of the CCJ is deeply meaningful to me — not because of any personal sense of accomplishment, but because I am acutely aware of what this Court represents in terms of decolonisation and regional integration,” he said.
“It is an honour and privilege to have the opportunity to participate in this journey. I also pay tribute to the formidable strides the CCJ has made in its relatively short lifetime under the successive stewardship of distinguished jurists who have built an institution of which all Caribbean people can be proud,” he added.
Bulkan holds law degrees from the University of the West Indies, University College London, and Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada. Before joining the judiciary, he served as a Justice of Appeal in Belize and was a long-serving academic at UWI, known for his advocacy in constitutional reform and human rights law.
The CCJ, inaugurated in 2005 and headquartered in Port of Spain, serves as the final appellate court for several CARICOM states and interprets the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Bulkan’s appointment restores the court’s full complement of judges and further cements Guyana’s leadership role in regional judicial advancement.
