Former Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar was victorious on Thursday in her legal battle against the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) headed by Chief Justice Ivor Archie, which she said forced her out of office as a High Court judge in 2017.
A three-judge panel at the Appeal Court this morning held that High Court Justice David Harris got it wrong when he ruled in October 2021 that Ayers-Caesar was not “forced” or “pressured” into resigning from the position by the Chief Justice as was being claimed.
In their ruling, Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Nolan Bereaux unanimously held that Ayers-Caesar’s appeal had to be upheld.
They said the decision of the JLSC was ultra vires, null and void and amounted to illegal conduct. This was so, the judges held because the commission sought to threaten and pressure her into resigning contrary to its powers under section 137 of the Constitution.
The judges said Ayers-Caesar continued to hold the position of Puisne judge of the High Court and ordered that she be compensated for breaches to her Constitutional rights.
The compensation to be awarded is to be assessed by the High Court at a later date.