Hon. Mrs. Justice Mabel Agyemang
Chairperson of the Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands
The Hon. Mrs. Justice Mabel Agyemang, Chief Justice, was appointed Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 1 April 2020. Her Ladyship is the Chairperson of the Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Her Ladyship spearheaded the launch of the Judicial Education Institute in August 2020 with the support of the CJEI and the institute is now a vibrant resource for the officers and staff of the judiciary, as well as the Judiciary’s Stakeholders.
Her Ladyship is a Ghanaian-trained judge with over three decades of judicial experience in various levels of the Judiciary in four Commonwealth Jurisdictions.
She joined the Ghanaian Bench in 1991 as a Magistrate until her appointment as a Circuit Court Judge in 1995, and a High Court Judge in 2002.
Her Ladyship was appointed an expert High Court Judge on assignment for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) for The Gambia from 2004 until 2008. She was then appointed an expert High Court Judge to provide technical assistance to the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland) from 2008-2010. She returned to the Gambia on yet another assignment for CFTC as Justice of Appeal in 2010 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Gambia in 2013. In 2015 Her Ladyship was appointed Justice of Appeal in Ghana.
Vice Chairperson Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands
The Hon. Mrs. Justice Alice Yorke-Soo Hon is the President of the Court of Appeal of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Madame Justice Yorke-Soo Hon, is a former Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago, and was admitted to the Bar in 1982 and was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago in October 2008.
Prior to her appointment to the High Court Bench in 1997, Justice Yorke-Soo Hon had over 15 years practice at the Bar, more notably in Criminal Law. She obtained her LL.B from the University of the West Indies in 1980 and her L.E.C at the Hugh Wooding Law School where she serves today as an Associate Tutor in Criminal Practice and Procedure. From 2013 – 2016 she also tutored in Ethics, Rights & Obligations of the Legal Profession.
Madame Justice Yorke-Soo Hon is a member of the Board of the Judicial Education Institute of Trinidad and Tobago and a fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute. She also holds a diploma in ‘Training Judicial Trainers’ from the University College of London. Madame Justice Yorke-Soo Hon has chaired a number of Committees, including the Bench Book Committee responsible for the publication of the Criminal Bench Book in Trinidad and Tobago in 2015, the Sentencing Update Handbook (2016) and the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Rules (2017). She was also a member of the Criminal Justice Reform Committee (JURIST Project), and the Chairperson of the Magistrates’ Benchbook Committee, which was tasked with the publication of the Handbook for Magistrates in the English speaking Caribbean (2021).
She has done extensive training in Criminal Practice and Procedure with both Attorneys and Judicial Officers in Trinidad and Tobago and in the region.
Hon. Mr Justice Anthony Gruchot
Member of the Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands
The Hon. Mr Justice Anthony Gruchot began duties as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 1st September 2022. His Lordship is a graduate of the Sheffield Hallam University in England and he obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Sheffield University, England, in 1998.
He was admitted as a solicitor of England and Wales in April 2000 and was called to the Bar of England and Wales as a Barrister through Lincoln’s Inn in November 2006.
His Lordship has a special interest in non-marital cohabitation financial/property claims, which involve the area of equitable constructive/resulting trust law.
His Lordship relocated to the Turks and Caicos Islands in October 2011 and was called to the Bar in the Turks and Caicos Islands in January 2012. His family law practice was reignited when he came to the TCI dealing with divorce and high value ancillary relief claims, international children disputes and abductions.
His Lordship is a trained Mediator, and prior to ascending to the Bench, acted as a mediator in matters referred to him.
Mr. Antonio Emmanuel
Secretary of the Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Mr. Antonio Emmanuel is the Secretary of the Judicial Education Institute of the Turks and Caicos Islands. He is an Attorney at Law and was educated at the University of the West Indies and the Hugh Wooding Law School. He has obtained an LLM with specialisation in International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary University of London. He was called to the Bar in Trinidad and Tobago in 2015, and he has instructed Senior Counsel and King’s Counsel.
He joined Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Judicial Research Assistant in the Office of the Chief Justice in 2022, after serving as a Judicial Research Counsel at the Caribbean Court of Justice. Mr. Emmanuel is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and is a Certified Family Mediator (University of the West Indies).