The newest Master of the High Court, Dr Corlita Babb-Schaefer, was sworn in at State House on Thursday, declaring that she is honoured and grateful to have been appointed to the post.
Under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, which was amended in 2006, to make provision for a Master of the High Court, Dr Babb-Schaefer is responsible for managing cases before they are presented to the judges for adjudication in civil cases. She has the authority and jurisdiction of a High Court judge sitting in chambers.
At a brief ceremony in which President of Barbados, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason administered the oath of office, Dr Babb-Schaefer thanked some key figures in her life who encouraged her along her professional career.
“I’d like to say that I am honoured to have been appointed to this position of the office of the Master. I am excited to serve Barbados in this capacity, having served Barbados in other capacities in the past,” she said.
“When I was studying law, I met with the former Governor General Sir Clifford [Husbands] when he was a Justice of Appeal, and he told me to work hard and things will happen. Former Secretary General of CARICOM [the Caribbean Community], Irwin LaRocque, told me, ‘don’t take your eyes off the bench’. So I was basically working and the opportunity came along and I am grateful, I accept it, and I will do my best.”
The new Master of the High Court has wide expertise in various areas of law, including international trade law and company law. Dr Babb-Schaefer served as general counsel of the CARICOM Secretariat from 2017 to 2022, where she provided legal advice to executive management and represented CARICOM in judicial procedures.
She has also worked for the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and the Attorney General’s Chambers.
She is the second Master of the High Court to have been appointed in the last few weeks, after Roger Barker was appointed to the post on December 27.
(SB)
