His Excellency the Governor, Duncan Taylor, CBE, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sir Richard Ground OBE as Cayman’s newest Court of Appeal Judge.  Sir Richard is currently a Judge on the Turks and Caicos Court of Appeal and is due to join the Bermuda Court of Appeal in January, 2013.

Throughout June and July, the Judicial and Legal Services Commission carried out an open recruitment process advertising the post locally and overseas. Following a short-listing process, an interview panel interviewed four persons for this post.

This is the first time that the appointment of a Judge to the Court of Appeal has been made by the Governor following advice from the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, established by the new Constitution introduced in November 2009.

Until his recent retirement Sir Richard was Chief Justice of Bermuda, a post he held for eight years. Before that he was Chief Justice of the Turks & Caicos Islands for six years, and a Puisne Judge in Bermuda for six years. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1975, but has spent most of his career in the region. Between 1987 and 1992 he was Attorney General of Cayman, and he received the OBE in 1991 for services to the Islands. He was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List earlier this year for his services to Justice in Bermuda.