Justice Adrian Saunders, an Outstanding Vincentian and Caribbean Luminary and Humanist

My flat nose swelled with enormous pride on Tuesday of this week when I listened to the copious tributes being paid to a son of our soil, Justice Adrian Saunders, the retiring President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).  The occasion was a special sitting of the Court held at the
(inappropriately named) Queen’s Hall, in Port of Spain Trinidad, the very place where he was first inducted among the first judges of the CCJ 20 years ago.

My pride was reinforced by the many expressions of some of the region’s legal luminaries which confirmed my own judgement of his character, integrity and humility. Even among the grandeur of his colleagues,
Justice Saunders remembered his old colleagues as the invitation to me to attend the ceremony, an invitation which I was not able to attend in person, attests. More on that later.

Justice Saunders is due to demit office early next month and such was his stature that some 16 outstanding Caribbean jurists paid tribute in person to his contribution. Among these was his successor, Justice
Winston Anderson, who will have very large boots to fill.

In his glowing tribute, Justice Anderson described his predecessor as “a man of integrity, compassion and humour”, “ a genuinely consequential Caribbean jurist’, who made “ a substantial and impactful legal service to the region”. He also spoke of Justice Saunders’ “unwavering commitment to justice”, praising how he “promoted the rule of law and championed judicial reform and education while remaining deeply committed to the intellectual growth of the Caribbean people”.

But Justice Anderson did not only laud the accomplishments of Justice Saunders, for he recalled that his predecessor “faced his share of obstacles and challenges” along the way, yet he kept the CCJ ship afloat even amidst the turbulent times following the Covid outbreak in the region which severely disrupted the administration of justice throughout the region.

My contribution

The latter statement, along the lines of obstacles and challenges, is where I would begin. I developed a close friendship and relationship with Adrian more than a half of a century ago. One of his older brothers, Dr. Ronnie Saunders became a member of our fledgling anti-colonialist movement, YULIMO, about 50 years ago. Tragically, he died on August 4, 1978, just after qualifying to practise medicine.

This is what the organ of YULIMO, FREEDOM, had to say about the much beloved and revered “Ronnie” in its issue of August 9, 1978:

“He was an outstanding athlete, sportsman, poet and regular contributor to FREEDOM”. (Such was the repressive nature of the then government that Dr. Saunders published political writings in FREEDOM under the pen-name “Vincent Williams”). The tribute went on to say that “Ronnie had already stamped his image on the world and chosen the path of serving his people.

He was known for his humility and passionate love for the masses,his burning concern being to set up a clinic and help to relieve the Vincentian masses of their physical suffering”.

That death must have had a very emotional impact on the young lawyer. In fact, Ronnie died while Adrian was not even here. He was in Cuba helping to finalize arrangements for the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Havana in August of that year and attended by a Vincentian delegation. It could not have been easy to be abroad at such a time, especially when there were no immediate possibilities to return at once.
That must have tested the character of the young lawyer. I was later to witness this strength of character five years later. The occasion was the tragic unfolding of events in Grenada in October, 1983. Adrian was then a leading member of the UPM, which had succeeded YULIMO. As fate would have it, on the Friday before the mayhem and murders in Grenada leading to the US invasion, Adrian had departed to Cuba on the invitation of the Cuban government. He had to travel via Grenada, then in turmoil because of the contradictions within the New Jewel Movement. Again, he was away when such a tragedy occurred and he had to face the consequences, like the rest of us in the UPM.

His character once more stood the test as it was later to do faced with further political setbacks. These related to the internal split in the UPM itself, leading to the departure of its then leader, Dr Ralph Gonsalves and the subsequent reversal in fortunes of the party. He took all in his stride, agreeing to contest the 1984 elections after I insisted not to contest again in West St George.

He even agreed to take up the challenge of leading the party, underlining his courage and principle. In fact, as the political fortunes of the party declined, Adrian remained steadfast to the end, when several others had conveniently “disappeared”.

I have not even mentioned the death of his beloved parents which he also had to handle, while coping with daily life and political struggles. But he never shirked, never. I will always remember the invaluable contributions he made to youth development in SVG as one of the outstanding Presidents of the National Youth Council (NYC), and in particular helping to lead in the advocacy which has resulted in the official honouring of Chief Chatoyer.
Among other outstanding leadership contributions was his role in 1981 in what became known as the “Kill the Bills”, campaign, the historical forcing of a government by public mobilisation to abandon repressive legislation, and that as part of the leadership of the National Independence Committee (NIC) in the run-up to national independence in 1979.

Few could have been more suited to undertake the CCJ assignment though he must have been disappointed that the country of his birth never acceded to full membership of the body.

His humility is legendary, and I can write volumes about it. His invitation to me to such a high-level occasion underlines this. Adrian, my heartiest congratulations on your accomplishments and very best wishes to your wife, Marilyn, and family.

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.