Sylvia Judith Bertrand
{{Short description|Dominican civil servant}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sylvia Judith Bertrand
| image = Sylvia_Judith_Bertrand.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1930}}
| birth_place = Portsmouth, Dominica
| death_date = {{Death year and age|2009|1930}}
| death_place = Roseau, Dominica
| other_names = Sylvia Bertrand
| occupation = civil servant, judge
| years_active = 1956–1996
| known_for = first woman Solicitor General of Dominica and first woman judge of St. Vincent & the Grenadines
| notable_works =
}}
Sylvia Judith Bertrand (1930 – 7 June 2009) was a Dominican civil servant who went on to earn a law degree in Dominica and serve as the Director of Public Prosecution. She served as Solicitor General for Dominica and later as High Court Judge for Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the British Virgin Islands on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
Early life
Sylvia Judith Bertrand was born in 1930{{sfn|Annual Report|2009|p=3}} in Portsmouth, Dominica to Octavia (née Savarin) and Tyrill Bertrand. After attending primary school in Portsmouth, she attended Convent High School in Roseau, where she excelled at sports. She participated on the National Netball Team and was one of the founders in 1950 of the Dominica Netball Club.{{sfn|André|2009}}
Career
In 1956, Bertrand began working as a court reporter in the colonial civil service. She worked on several Inquiry Commissions, including the 1958 Carnival Day murders in La Plaine and the 1963 Carnival Day fire. Her work encouraged her to seek further education in her field and in 1965, she resigned and moved to England where she resided with her older brother Hubert, to seek a law degree. Upon completion of her studies, Bertrand returned to Dominica{{sfn|André|2009}} and on 4 October 1969, was admitted to the bar to practice law in Dominica.{{sfn|Brathwaite|1999|p=280}}
In 1980, with the election of Eugenia Charles as Prime Minister of Dominica, Bertrand, who was serving at the time as Director of Public Prosecution, became involved in the prosecution of the various forces involved in the coup d'états against Charles' administration.{{sfn|André|2009}}{{sfn|The Gleaner|31 July 1981|p=25}}{{sfn|The Gleaner|15 August 1981|p=24}} Her successful prosecution of the involved parties, resulted in Bertrand's elevation{{sfn|André|2009}} as the Solicitor General of Dominica in 1982. The first woman to hold the post, she served until 1984, when she was assigned as a puisne judge in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, becoming the first female judge of Saint Vincent.{{sfn|Brathwaite|1999|p=280}}
Bertrand was confirmed in 1985 as the High Court Judge representing Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the British Virgin Islands for the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.{{sfn|André|2009}}{{sfn|Annual Report|2009|p=55}} Serving for seven years, she retired in 1992 and then returned to Dominica, where she served as Chair of the Social Security Board from 1994 to 1996.{{sfn|Annual Report|2009|p=55}}
Death and legacy
Bertrand died on 7 June 2009 at Princess Margaret Hospital in Roseau, Dominica.{{sfn|André|2009}} Bertrand's niece, Karyl Bertrand, daughter of her brother Hubert, is a commercial attorney of note in Curaçao.{{sfn|The Dominican|2012}}
See also
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin|30em}}
- {{cite news|last1=André|first1=Irving|title=Dominica mourns the death of Justice Slyvia Judith Bertrand|url=http://thedominican.net/2009/06/dominica-mourns-death-of-justice-slyvia.html|access-date=20 October 2017|publisher=The Dominican|date=10 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020180724/http://thedominican.net/2009/06/dominica-mourns-death-of-justice-slyvia.html|archive-date=20 October 2017|location=Laurel, Maryland}}
- {{cite book|last=Brathwaite|first=Joan A. |title=Women and the Law: A Bibliographical Survey of Legal and Quasi-legal Materials with Special Reference to Commonwealth Caribbean Jurisdictions and Including Relevant Commonwealth Caribbean Legislation and Case Material|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ycqTHWTxuj0C&pg=PA280|year=1999|publisher=University of the West Indies Press|location=Kingston, Jamaica|isbn=978-976-640-069-9}}
- {{cite report|ref={{harvid|Annual Report|2009}}|author=|title=Annual Report 2008-2009|url=https://www.eccourts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/AnnualReport08-09.pdf|access-date=20 October 2017|publisher=Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court|date=2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020185839/https://www.eccourts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/AnnualReport08-09.pdf|archive-date=20 October 2017|location=Castries, Saint Lucia}}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Gleaner|31 July 1981}}|author=|title=Dominican Govt. moves to link ex-PM with April's coup plot|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-jul-31-1981-431002/|access-date=20 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=31 July 1981|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=25|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Dominican|2012}}|author=|title=Dominicans in Curacao|url=http://thedominican.net:80/2012/11/dominicans-living-in-curacao.html|access-date=20 October 2017|publisher=The Dominican|date=14 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323033919/http://thedominican.net/2012/11/dominicans-living-in-curacao.html|archive-date=23 March 2013|location=Laurel, Maryland|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Gleaner|15 August 1981}}|author=|title=Hearings into attempted coup open in Dominica|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-aug-15-1981-431009/|access-date=20 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=15 August 1981|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=24|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}}
{{refend}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Sylvia Judith}}
Category:Dominica civil servants
Category:20th-century women civil servants