Professor Justice (Ret.) Courtney Ashton Abel

Professor Justice (Ret.) Courtney Ashton Abel is a Guyanese-born jurist, British barrister, and Anguilla Belonger whose distinguished career spans multiple legal systems across the United Kingdom, Anguilla, the Eastern Caribbean, and Belize. Called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in 1980, where he now serves as an Overseas Bencher, he practised law for over three decades before his judicial appointment. 

He founded and led major law firms in Anguilla and St. Kitts, appearing as lead counsel in complex civil and commercial cases up to the Privy Council. A former President of the OECS Bar Association and the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations, he has long championed professional development and regional legal unity. 

Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Belize in 2012, he served with distinction until 2020, spearheading court-connected mediation and arbitration reforms. Now Professor of Law at the University of Guyana, he lectures in Jurisprudence, Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Indigenous and Customary Law, while researching Caribbean legal thought and post-colonial jurisprudence. His career exemplifies a lifelong commitment to legal innovation, institutional reform, and the development of a distinct Caribbean jurisprudence.