Follow the work of the Association across our Member States and Territories, from the President’s annual reports to regional conferences and the ways our members serve their communities.
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Ensure Justice. Protect Survivors. End Impunity.
Young people aged 11 to 18 across the Member States and Territories are invited to answer gender-based violence in visual art or performing art. Entries close 12 October 2026.
The President’s annual account of the Association’s work, growth and priorities. Download reports from Publications.
Formally launched on 5 March 2024, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Association of Women Judges is a young organisation with the opportunity to chart its own course and to impact the lives of women and girls in our Member States and Territories. The support we can provide to each other is immeasurable and must not be diminished in any way.
This report shares the Association’s achievements since our last meeting in April 2024.
Membership now stands at 57: 18 judges, 22 magistrates, 11 registrars, 1 master, 1 tribunal member of the Industrial Court of Antigua and Barbuda, and 4 retired judicial officers. Over the period from April 2024 we lost four members who have moved on in their careers away from judicial office, or who are no longer judicial officers within the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
On 7 August 2024, the Rt. Hon. Dame Janice Pereira, DBE, LLD was declared the first Patron of the ECAWJ, and she was formally recognised at a social gathering of the Annual Judicial Conference in August 2024. See photos from the evening.
The Association adopted its logo in January 2025. It was designed free of charge by Joi Sandiford of Saint Lucia, and we acknowledge her efforts with gratitude.
Two of our members, Justice Tamara Gill and Master Tamara Foster, attended the National Association of Women Judges Conference in San Diego, California, from 17 to 19 October 2024, sponsored by the US State Department. See the NAWJ Conference album.
To commemorate International Women’s Day and the International Day of Women Judges, the Association hosted the panel discussion Hard Talk: GBV (Gender Based Violence), Beyond Physical, moderated by Justice Nicola Byer. The panel comprised Her Honour Magistrate Veronica Thomas; Mr Tyrone Buckmire, Director of the Legal Aid and Counselling Clinic, Grenada; and Ms Alicia Green, Director of Women in Need, BVI. The discussion focused on gender-based violence beyond physical abuse, including emotional and financial abuse, court procedures, and support services for victims.
Members also marked the day with activities across St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, the Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Read about the activities across the islands.
Justice Agnes Actie joined the group Caribbean Strong at the International Association of Women Judges Conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 9 to 12 April 2025. By all accounts, she represented the ECAWJ well. See the Cape Town album.
In May 2025 we launched the first issue of the ECAWJ newsletter, Lady Justice: The Bench and Beyond. Our thanks go to the Editor, Justice Cybelle Cenac-Dantes, and the hardworking members of the Newsletter Committee: Justices Ann-Marie Smith and Nicola Byer, Magistrates Veronica Thomas and Ngaio Emanuel, Master Tamara Foster and Registrar Chanelle Petty-Barrett, for their hard work and dedication. We also thank all the contributors who helped make the first issue a resounding success. Read Lady Justice.
The Association’s Creative Competition received three submissions: two from Saint Lucia and one from St Vincent and the Grenadines. See the Creative Competition.
The President of the ECAWJ collaborated with the President of the CAWJ to produce a video as part of CAJO’s observance of the first International Day of Judicial Wellness on 25 July 2025. Visit the Judicial Wellbeing Corner.
Each March our members mark International Women’s Day and the International Day of Women Judges with activities across the islands. Read our official statements.
The theme for International Day of Women Judges, celebrated on 10 March 2026 and set by the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), was Women Judges on the Bench and Beyond: Protecting Access to Justice. The theme for International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March 2026, was Give to Gain.
Judicial officers and members of the ECAWJ in the Member States and Territories marked both days with activities across the islands, summarised below.
Fireside Chat: The Women Behind the Scales. On 12 March 2026, sitting judicial officers, the Magistracy among them, shared in a “real talk” session via Zoom how they manage their work on the Bench alongside their lives off it, in the unique circumstances of the ECSC.
ECAWJ Inter-Island Step Challenge. Building on the 2025 step challenge, teams of up to ten from each Member State and Territory, made up of female judicial officers, court staff and members of the Bar Associations, competed over five days from 10 to 14 March. The winners were the Hot Steppers of Saint Lucia, with the Step Warriors of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in second place.
A panel discussion, The Role of the Law in Supporting the Family, with Justice Birnie Stephenson among the panelists, and an exhibition featuring the female Judges, Magistrates and Registrars serving in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Registrar and staff of the BVI Supreme Court hosted a prayer breakfast. Judges, Magistrates, the Territory’s female Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Principal Crown Counsel, the Solicitor General and court staff attended. Rev Sandra Malone-Walters delivered a message on the theme Give to Gain, and Dr Christine Harry led a health segment on menopause and brain fog, challenging women to give not only to others but to themselves through a healthy lifestyle. Violinist Kyle Moses performed.
Court office staff and judicial officers, including Justice Sejilla Mc Dowall and Justice Zainab Jawara-Alami, marked the day together.
A brunch in celebration of both days featured a Caribbean Cookpot with dishes from the different islands, and a presentation by Dr. Batista Heirera, Cardiologist, on work-life balance, stress, menopause and their effects on the heart (more in our Judicial Wellbeing Corner). The Magistracy celebrated the female staff of the Magistrate’s Court.
An exhibition and a celebration of the women in the Court Office, with Justice Gertel Thom and Justice Cybelle Cenac-Dantes.
A church service graced by our Patron, Dame Janice Pereira, DBE, LLD, and the inaugural lecture in a lecture series for second-year CAPE Law students at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, with Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence and Justice Vivian Georgis Taylor-Alexander. Male and female judicial officers came together for a sip and paint.
Judicial officers also led primary school reading activities featuring women who faced adversity and their successes, with students reading and dramatising the stories, at Bocage Combined School, Canon Laurie Primary School (where Justice Nicola Byer addressed the students), Forestierre Combined School (where students dramatised the story of Rosa Parks), Fr. Charles Gachet Combined School (with Master Tamara Foster), Monchy RC Combined School (where students presented produce from their kitchen garden) and Plain View Combined School (with Her Honour Alima Alexis).
ECAWJ Message for International Day of Women Judges and International Women’s Day 2026 (PDF)
Summary of Activities 2026 (PDF)
Members of the Association marked International Women’s Day and the International Day of Women Judges 2025 with activities in most of our Member States and Territories. The celebrations opened with the ECAWJ panel discussion Hard Talk: GBV, Beyond Physical.
Ladies from the Magistrate Court, the Land Registry and the High Court Registries were invited to wear purple, green or white in honour of International Women’s Day as they stood ready to march into action.
Justice Nicola Byer gave an interview for the occasion. Judges delivered a 20-minute presentation on International Women’s Day at Antigua Girls High and presented books to the young ladies. Some of the judges and magistrates also visited the Sunshine Home for Girls, a home for girls at risk, where they had an intimate talk with the residents and presented them with gifts.
Members organised a food drive, with distributions made to women in need.
Members attended a church service and a social dinner. Justice Taylor-Alexander gave an inspirational wellness talk, and tokens were presented to the female staff of the three divisions of the High Court.
Grenada celebrated International Women’s Day “The Spice Isle Way”.
Together with the High Court Registry staff, our Vincentian sisters celebrated International Down Syndrome Day as part of the International Women’s Day activities. They rocked their socks and presented gift baskets to two Down Syndrome princesses.
Twelve members took part in a seven-day virtual step challenge. At the end, Chief Registrar Michelle John-Theobalds emerged the winner. The challenge returned in 2026 as the ECAWJ Inter-Island Step Challenge.
Read the Association’s statements for International Women’s Day and the International Day of Women Judges 2025.
Members representing the Association at regional and international gatherings of women judges. Browse the conference photo albums.
The tenth anniversary of the Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago Associations of Women Judges (CAWJ and TTAWJ) was marked by a Professional Development Conference and Gala held from 26 to 28 April 2024 at The Judicial Waterfront Center and Hyatt Regency in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Under the theme “Honouring Our Journey, Strengthening Our Sisterhood”, the conference brought together a diverse group of women judicial officers from across the Caribbean, and gave female judges and magistrates a valuable opportunity to gain insights and perspectives from their peers.
The key themes and discussions included case flow management, judicial wellness, a round table discussion highlighting the remarkable journeys of outstanding women judges, and social activities.
Dr. Dianne Douglas, Clinical Psychologist, provided sound advice on judicial wellness, Caribbean style, in her own unique way. Dr. Sarah St. Louis, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist specialising in Urogynecology, presented on women’s health, especially hormonal issues and their significant impact on our daily lives as judicial officers.
Discussions also centred on the challenges of juggling demanding judicial roles with family responsibilities and personal commitments. Participants shared practical tips and strategies for managing competing priorities and maintaining overall well-being, and work-life balance emerged as a significant concern among the women judges.
The round table on the journeys of outstanding women judges featured retired Chief Justice of Jamaica Zaila McCalla, Chief Justice Roxanne George of Guyana, and Justice Margaret Reifer, Justice of Appeal, Barbados. Moderated by Madam Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Judge of the CCJ, the session provided much inspiration and insight, and had a positive impact on female judges and aspiring judges alike.
The discussions, social activities and collaborative engagements gave participants valuable lessons that will inform the work and plans of newly formed organisations such as the ECAWJ, and of the soon-to-be-formed Barbados and Bahamas women judges associations. By raising awareness, promoting best practices, and fostering dialogue and networking, women judges associations can create environments that are more inclusive and supportive for all.
We express our profound gratitude to the Hon. Chief Justice, Dame Janice Pereira, DBE, LLD, for her vision and encouragement in the formation of the ECAWJ, and to the US Embassy for sponsoring our attendance at the tenth anniversary celebrations of our sister associations.
Respectfully submitted by Justice Agnes Actie and Justice Tamara Gill.
Beyond the courtroom, our members visit schools and homes, support women and girls in need, and hold each other up. Some of the ways we serve:
Judicial officers led reading activities on women who faced adversity, with students dramatising the stories.
An inaugural lecture series for second-year CAPE Law students at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.
Teams of judicial officers, court staff and the Bar stepping up for health and wellbeing.
Ensure Justice. Protect Survivors. End Impunity. Visual art and performing art, for ages 11 to 18.
In 2025 members also visited the Sunshine Home for Girls in Antigua, held a food drive for women in need in the Virgin Islands and celebrated International Down Syndrome Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Read about 2025.