Senior Counsel Mursaline Bacchus admitted to Inner Bar

– AG Nandlall lauds his sterling service over 45 years in profession

Senior Counsel Mr. Mursaline Bacchus was inducted into the Inner Bar during a special sitting of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature, in New Amsterdam, Berbice today.

Chancellor of the Judiciary (Ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George, and Justices of Appeal, Brassington Reynolds and Rishi Persaud presided over today’s special sitting in the Berbice High Court.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, who was recently conferred with the honour of Senior Counsel by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, read the petition and recounted Mr. Bacchus’s life and work.  

The Attorney General said the last time such an activity was held in the ancient county of Berbice, was in 1969 when the late Senior Counsel Bhairo Prasad was admitted to the Inner Bar. It is also the first time, a Berbician Senior Counsel would be practicing in the Berbice courts, since the passing of Senior Counsel Marcel Crawford in 2013.

“It is fitting, not only that that vacuum will be filled, but is being filled by Mr. Mursaline Bacchus, who demonstrably is the putative leader of the Berbice Bar, in terms of seniority, as well as accomplishments,” AG Nandlall said.

Mr. Bacchus bears the distinction of being from the first batch of graduates from the Bachelor of Laws programme offered by the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 1970. He graduated with honours from the LLB programme in 1973. Mr. Bacchus proceeded to the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago where he successfully completed his studies in legal education and returned to practice law in his hometown.

The Attorney General said over the years, Mr. Bacchus’s practice gravitated towards criminal law and he distinguished himself in the Magistrates’ courts across the country, as well as before the jury across the counties.

AG Nandlall cited a number of cases in which Mr. Bacchus appeared that have been featured in the West Indian Reports. Therefore, the Attorney General said, Mr. Bacchus’s suitability and qualification to be elevated to ‘Silk’ cannot be questioned.

Meanwhile, in his address, Mr. Bacchus said he is grateful that the love he gave to the profession did not go unnoticed, and that he is happy to be in good health to celebrate this milestone with family, friends and colleagues.

The Senior Counsel encouraged his colleagues to continue to honour the tradition of being the standard bearers of kindness, justice, equality and fair play in the country. He hopes that by honouring those traditions that made their profession notable, they will recognise and eschew those behaviours that besmirch their reputations.

The Senior Counsel also noted the significance of the special sitting in Berbice, stating that “history is being repeated.”

Mr. Bacchus, who has 45 years of outstanding service in the legal profession, was conferred with ‘Silk’ by former President David Granger on January 1, 2020.

In the Commonwealth Nations, the elevation to Senior Counsel or ‘Silk’ is conferred upon distinguished lawyers for exemplary contributions in the field of law. Upon conferment, the honouree is admitted a member of the ‘Inner Bar’ of Court. Since members wear silk gowns of a specific design, the Counsels are usually referred to as ‘Silk.’