DR Chantal Ononaiwu of Jamaica has been selected by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) — the independent body responsible for recruiting staff and judges for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) — as a judge of the regional court.

Ononaiwu is filling the vacancy created by the untimely retirement on December 31, 2023 of Justice Jacob Wit. Justice Wit died on January 16, 2024.

A CCJ release on Friday said: “Dr Chantal Ononaiwu is an attorney-at-law with over 20 years’ experience at the bar. In particular, she has specialist expertise in Caribbean Community (Caricom) law and international law — including international trade law, and varied legal experience as an adjudicator, litigator, legal advisor, and university lecturer. Apart from her international trade law experience, Dr Ononaiwu has expertise in commercial law, having worked in the international business and financial services sector as the director, value proposition development, at Invest Barbados. She also served as vice-chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Digital Standards Initiative Legal Reform Advisory Board. Further, at the start of her legal career Dr Ononaiwu worked as counsel in the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers in Jamaica.

Dr Ononaiwu has lectured in international trade and investment law, public international law, and criminal law at The University of the West Indies. Her academic work includes publications in the areas of international trade law, investment law, public international law, and constitutional law.

She most recently served as director, external trade, for Caricom, leading the coordination of the organisation’s external trade policy. During her tenure she advised Caricom and its member states on international trade and investment issues and was a negotiator for the community in negotiations of international trade agreements. She also has experience as an international trade adjudicator, having served as a member of a panel that adjudicated a World Trade Organization dispute.

Dr Ononaiwu is a Rhodes Scholar and holds the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the University of Oxford; Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge; and Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from The University of the West Indies; as well as a Legal Education Certificate of Merit from Norman Manley Law School.

She is expected to take the oath of office in October 2024.

RJLSC said it is currently conducting recruitments for further appointments to the bench, including the post of president to replace Justice Saunders who will retire in 2025.