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Friday, October 22, 2004 - After 14 years of service on the bench,
Honourable Justice Suzie d’Auvergne has retired as a High Court Judge of the
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Saint Lucia Circuit). However, Her Ladyship has
been appointed Acting Justice of the Appeal Court.
At a special Plenary Sitting of the Supreme Court on Thursday, October 21, 2004
in honour of Her Ladyship, Acting Justice of Appeal, Suzie d’Auvergne, she
expressed her gratitude to all her judicial colleagues and by extension, all
those who assisted her in dispensing jurisprudence during all those years.
Her Ladyship also took the opportunity to enlighten members of the legal
confraternity of her perseverance and determination to excel in the legal arena.
She attributed her achievements to her parents’ guidance and influence in
setting her along the right path to attaining those goals.
According to Her Ladyship, in continuing pursuit of her goal, she joined the
Civil Service as a Magistrate after five years of private practice, having been
called to the Bar on January 9, 1975. She said that decision was widely
discouraged by her colleagues, who described the magistracy during those days as
a legal cemetery.
“It was this view that spurred me on, and immediately, I set myself the goal of
becoming a High Court Judge, if only to disprove this notion. There were no
female High Court Judges in the OECS at that time”, Justice D’Auvergne said.
In 1982, three years after becoming a Magistrate, she was appointed Director of
Public Persecution, and in 1988, she was appointed the first ever Solicitor
General of St. Lucia. On the September 17, 1990, she attained her goal: she was
appointed a High Court Judge.
“The older folks in St. Lucia did not allow me to forget that I was enjoying my
father’s industry and hard work”, Justice D’Auvergne said. She recalled many
elderly persons saying to her, “where is sulli to see his daughter make history
in St. Lucia”, and in good humour, Justice D’Auvergne said, “now just translate
that in patois”.
Her appointment to the position of Acting Justice of Appeal ends on December 31,
2004.
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