Guyanese judge appointed to CCJ

News Jada Loutoo 4 Minutes Ago

Justice Arif Bulkan - CCJ

Guyana's Justice Arif Bulkan has been appointed to serve as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) announced on August 18.

He will replace Justice Winston Anderson, who was elevated to the presidency of the court in July. Bulkan is expected to be sworn in October 2025.

The RJLSC said Bulkan was selected from 26 applicants across 14 countries after a competitive process that shortlisted five candidates – three men and two women – for interviews. Applications were received from Australia, Barbados, Canada, Cameroon, Fiji, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

Anderson, who also chairs the RJLSC, said the body bases its appointments on merit, citing expertise, integrity, and commitment to justice.

The RJLSC said Bulkan has decades of legal experience across the Caribbean and internationally. He was admitted to the Guyana Bar in 1990, served in the Director of Public Prosecutions chambers, practised privately, and sat on the Court of Appeal of Guyana. Since 2022, he has been a judge on the Court of Appeal of Belize. He also taught at the University of the West Indies for 14 years and served as a vice chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

In 2023, Bulkan was elected to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, where he currently serves as second vice president. His published works include studies on constitutional and indigenous rights. For his contributions to human rights, he received the Anthony Sabga Caribbean Award for Public and Civic Contributions and was named a PANCAP/CARICOM Champion for Change in 2017.

Bulkan will be the third Guyanese to serve on the CCJ bench.