The Honourable Justice Pearletta Lanns
The opening of the new second high court at the Sir Lee Llewellyn Moore Judicial Complex in Basseterre, St. Kitts, which will help to expedite the dispensation of justice, has seen the appointment of a second judge to serve the St. Kitts Circuit – the Honourable Justice Pearletta Lanns, a daughter of the soil.
At his (Wednesday, April 8) monthly press conference, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris welcomed Justice Lanns, when reiterating the government’s promise of having a second high court, which “goes to the heart of law and order and our democracy.” Dr. Harris said that such an initiative forms part of the government’s good governance agenda which promotes transparency and accountability.
“We have now delivered on both, and for this I want to thank the Chief Justice of the [Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court], the Honourable Dame Janice Pereira for working with us to ensure that we can deliver this so soon in 2017,” said Dr. Harris. “The second high court is now served by the Hon. Justice Pearletta Lanns who hails from the Federation. We welcome her and we wish her well in this high office. We will now have continuous sittings relating to criminal matters all year long and, similarly, we will have continuous hearings of civil matters.”
Prime Minister Harris said that the opening of the second high court and the appointment of a new judge will speed up the workings of the justice system.
“This should lead to a significant diminution in the backlog of cases. Justice, then, will be more swiftly obtained in St. Kitts and Nevis and this is good for the country. It is good for business, it is good for citizens that the long delays [will no longer be] part of our judicial system. Justice delayed, justice denied,” he said.
In 1985, Justice Lanns, on completion of her library degree, attended the University of the West Indies University Centre in St. Kitts and joined the Challenge Programme, which had offered a first year Law LLB of the degree programme. She later obtained her legal education certificate in 1995 from the Sir Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago and was admitted to the Bar in the Federation that same year.
Justice Lanns has served as Crown Counsel, Registrar of Companies, Registrar of the High Court, Provost Marshall, Additional Magistrate, Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Registrar of Lands and Deeds, Registrar of Probate and Registrar of Intellectual Property. Justice Pearletta Lanns was appointed to the post of Master of the Supreme Court in 2007. She was the first female in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to be appointed to the position.