Chief Justice of the Bahamas

The position of chief justice is authorised by Article 93(2) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 94(1), the governor-general appoints the chief justice on the recommendation of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition. Removal of the chief justice is governed by Article 96(6); the prime minister recommends removal to the governor-general, who then forms a tribunal of at least three members selected by the governor-general in accordance with the advice of the prime minister. Under Article 98(2), the chief justice may be invited to sit on the Court of Appeal by the president of that court.{{cite book|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/05c53483-082c-437a-a0db-eda4ee2fe87c/Chap+7+The+Judicature.pdf?MOD=AJPERES|chapter=Chapter VII: The Judicature|title=The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas|accessdate=2012-07-08}}

{{Incomplete list|date=July 2012}}

;British Crown Colony of the Bahamas, 1718-1973

• Thomas Walker, 1718– (died 1723)
• Sir William Morison, c.1770
• Thomas Atwood, 1773-1785
• John Matson, 1785-1789 (afterwards Chief Justice of Dominica, 1789){{cite book|last=Sylvanus|first=Urban|title=The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d4R1eiVmh40C&pg=PA1193|volume=75, Part 2|year=1805|publisher=J. Nichols and Son|location=London, England|pages=1193–1194}}
• Stephen de Lancey c.1790–1797
• Moses Franks 1799–1805 (died 1810) United States Gazette, March 6, 1805. Phila., PA
• William Vesey Munnings 1811–1836
• Sir John Campbell Lees 1836–1865 The Gentleman's Magazine, Volumes 160-161
• Sir William Henry Doyle 1865– {{London Gazette|city=E|page=1134|issue=7573|date=19 September 1865}}
• Sir George Campbell Anderson 1875– {{cite news|title= Northampton Mercury|date=16 October 1875}}{{Cite journal |date=12 October 1875 |title=Appointments |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24254/page/4821 |journal=The Gazette |location= |publication-place=London, England |issue=24254 |pages=4821}}
• Henry William Austin, 1880–1890 {{London Gazette |issue=9131 |date=17 August 1880 |page=745 |city=e |title=Downing Street, August 12, 1880}}{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/cihm_26977|title=Addresses presented to Hon. H.W. Austin, Chief Justice of Bahamas, on his retirement from the bench of the colony.|date=24 October 1890|publisher=publisher not identified|via=Open WorldCat}}
• Roger Yelverton (1890–1893){{cite book |last1=Wiener |first1=Martin J. |title=An Empire on Trial: Race, Murder, and Justice under British Rule, 1870–1935 |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-47344-6 |pages=118–124 |language=en}}
• (Sir) Charles George Walpole, 1893–1897 {{Cite web|url=http://www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/DeTeissiers-Part1.html|title=Epsom & Ewell History Explorer|website=www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk}}{{cite book|title=The Knights of England: A Complete Record from the Earliest Time|first= William|last = Shaw|page=402}}
• Sir Ormond Drimmie Malcolm 1897–1910{{Cite news |last=Dorsett |first=Sidney |date=July 4, 1973 |title=Leonard Knowles Sworn in as the First Bahamian Chief Justice in 63 Years |url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00084249/03387/images/0 |access-date=6 May 2024 |work=Tribune newspaper |pages=1 |quote=The new Chief Justice [Leonard Knowles] who succeeds Sir William Gordon Bryce CBE |ref=LKsworn_in}}
• Sir John Bromhead Matthews 1910–1911 {{London Gazette|issue=28329|page=338|date=14 January 1910}}
• Daniel Thomas Tudor 1911–1922 {{Cite news |date=1 Dec 1928 |title=Local obituaries: Sir Daniel Tudor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/786081415 |work=Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic |pages=7}}{{Cite journal |date=11 August 1911 |title=Appointments |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28521/page/5986 |journal=The Gazette |location=London, England |issue=28521 |pages=5986}}{{Cite journal |date=19 September 1922 |title=Appointments |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32748/page/6710 |journal=The London Gazette |issue=32748 |pages=6710}}
• Sir Sidney Charles Nettleton 1922–1924 (afterwards Chief Justice of Cyprus, 1924)
• Sir Ewen Reginald Logan 1925–1927
• Sir Kenneth James Beatty 1927–1931 (afterwards Chief Justice of Gibraltar, 1931){{London Gazette |issue=14367 |page=980 |date=23 August 1927 |city=Edinburgh}}
• Sir Richard Clifford Tute, K.C.M.G, 1932{{Cite news |date=30 December 1931 |title=Justice Named: Richard Clifford Tute to Sit in Bahamas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/776904977 |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=Halifax Mail |location=Nova Scotia, Canada |pages=1}}-1939
• Sir Oscar Bedford Daly, 1939– A Serpent In Eden: 'The greatest murder mystery of all time'
• Sir Oswald Lawrence Bancroft, 1951- Supplement to the London Gazette, 7 June 1951
• Sir Guy Wilmot McLintock Henderson 1956{{Cite journal |date=29 June 1956 |title=Knighthoods |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40818/page/3801 |journal=The Gazette |location=London, England |issue=40818 |pages=3801}}–1960
• Sir Ralph Abercrombie Campbell, 11 August 1960{{Cite book |last=Colonial Office |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002271830v&seq=287 |title=Report for the Years 1958 and 1959 |publisher=H M Stationery Office |year=1961 |location=London, England |pages=5 |language=en}} to 31 May 1970{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.gov.bs/cms/wp-content/uploads/supremecourt_formerjustices.pdf|title=Former Justices of the Supreme Court|publisher=Supreme Court of the Bahamas|accessdate=2012-07-07|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101073017/http://www.courts.gov.bs/cms/wp-content/uploads/supremecourt_formerjustices.pdf|archivedate=2015-01-01}}
• William Gordon Bryce, C.B.E., Q.C., 1 June 1970 to 30 June 1973

;Bahamas after independence in 1973

• Sir Leonard J. Knowles, 4 July 1973 to 6 August 1978
• James Alfred Smith, 7 July 1978 to 11 May 1980
• Harvey Lloyd da Costa, 18 November 1980 to 31 December 1981
• Vivian O. Blake, 1 January 1982 to 9 September 1983
• Sir Denis Eustace Gilbert Malone (acting), 10 September to 31 December 1983
• Rt. Hon. Mr. Philip Telford Georges, 1 January 1984 to 30 September 1989
• Sir Joaquim Gonsalves Sabola, 1 October 1989 to 31 December 1995
• Sir Cyril S. S. Fountain, 1 January 1995 to 30 October 1996
• Dame Joan A. Sawyer, DBE, 1 November 1996 to 26 November 2001
• Sir Burton P. C. Hall, KSS, KHS, 2001 to 2009{{cite news|url=http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/bis-news-updates/Sir_Burton_Hall_nominated_to_become_a_Permanent_Judge_of_the_International_Criminal_Tribunal_for_the_former_Yugoslavia6801.shtml|title=Sir Burton Hall nominated to become a Permanent Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|work=The Bahamas Weekly|date=2009-06-25|accessdate=2012-07-08}}
• Hon. Sir Michael L. Barnett, 24 August 2009 to 31 January 2015 {{cite web|url=http://www.bahamassupremecourt.gov.bs/news.php?content=13|title=New Chief Justice takes over The Judiciary|publisher=The Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas|date=2009-08-24|accessdate=2012-07-07|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709142740/http://bahamassupremecourt.gov.bs/news.php?content=13|archivedate=2013-07-09}}
• Hon. Sir Hartman Longley, 2 February 2015 to 22 December 2017 {{cite web|url=http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/bis-news-updates/Swearing-In_of_New_Chief_Justice_Hartman_Longley39817.shtml|title=Swearing In of New Chief Justice Hartman Longley |publisher=The Bahamas Weekly|date=2015-02-02|accessdate=2015-03-07}}
• Hon. Stephen Isaacs, 10 August 2018 to 24 August 2018
• Hon. Sir Brian Moree, KC, 12 June 2019 to 3 August 2022{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3361148|title=CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD | Honours and Awards | The Gazette|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://mofa.gov.bs/brian-moree-qc-sworn-in-as-new-chief-justice/|title=BRIAN MOREE, QC SWORN IN AS NEW CHIEF JUSTICE – Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Bahamas}}
• Hon. Sir Ian Winder, 3 August 2022 to Present{{cite web|url=https://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/280494/Hon_Mr_Justice_Ian_Winder_sworn_in_as_the_new_Chief_Justice.html#:~:text=The%20Deputy%20to%20the%20Governor,the%20Andros%20Room%2C%20Baha%20Mar.|title=Hon. Mr. Justice Ian Winder, sworn in as the new Chief Justice

|publisher=The Bahamas Weekly|date=2022-08-05|accessdate=2022-01-03}}

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{{Bahamas topics}}

{{British dependencies chief justices|state=collapsed}}

Category:Judiciary of the Bahamas

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