In a landmark judgment delivered last week, High Court Justice Raulston L. A. Glasgow has nullified the appointment of prominent Saint Lucian academic and legal expert Eddy Ventose to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) Court of Appeal, ruling the appointment unconstitutional and void ab initio effective January 8, 2024. The ruling has sent ripples through the Eastern Caribbean legal system, as it calls into question the legal standing of a high-profile February 2025 appellate decision that overturned a lower court ruling on the constitutionality of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The controversy traces back to a 2023 lower court ruling, in which then-High Court Judge Esco Henry—now elevated to the appellate bench—found SVG’s national vaccine mandate unconstitutional and legally unenforceable. The case was appealed to the ECSC Court of Appeal, where Ventose, sitting as a newly appointed Justice of Appeal, led the 2-1 majority that overturned Henry’s original ruling when the decision was announced on February 12, 2025.
Following the appellate ruling, London-based King’s Counsel James A. L. Bristol launched a legal challenge to Ventose’s appointment, arguing that the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) had acted beyond its legal authority in appointing Ventose. Bristol’s challenge centered on the strict eligibility requirements laid out for appellate judges in Section 5 of the 1967 West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Order: candidates may qualify either by serving at least five years as a judge of a court of unlimited jurisdiction, or by being qualified to practice as an advocate and actively practicing in that role for a minimum of 15 consecutive years.
In his written judgment, Justice Glasgow conducted a granular review of Ventose’s decades-long legal career, and concluded that even when counting all eligible legal experience—including his tenure as a High Court Judge and court Master—Ventose only accumulated 12 years and 9 months of qualifying practice, falling three years and three months short of the mandatory 15-year threshold.
Crucially, Glasgow emphasized that the ruling was no reflection on Ventose’s professional ability or legal expertise, noting that the Saint Lucian jurist has “widely recognised legal accomplishments”. He also cleared the JLSC of any misconduct or bad faith, writing that the incorrect appointment stemmed from an honest but erroneous misinterpretation of the eligibility criteria laid out in the Courts Order.
The legal fallout from the ruling is already unfolding: the ECSC has confirmed that because Ventose was not lawfully appointed to the appellate bench at the time of the February 2025 vaccine mandate ruling, the majority decision he led lacks legal standing. The vaccine mandate case is currently awaiting a final ruling from the London-based Privy Council, which serves as the highest court of appeal for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Court voids appointment of Saint Lucian lead judge in vaccine case
