APPOINTMENT: The Supreme Court of Seychelles

I was just made aware of the following press release on Virtual Seychelles:

President James Michel has appointed Mrs Fiona Robinson (née Laporte) as a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court on the recommendation of the Constitutional Appointments Authority, with effect from 11^th January 2013.

Mrs Robinson was sworn into office at a ceremony held at State House this morning, which was presided by President James Michel. The ceremony was attended by Vice-President Danny Faure, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Frederick Egonda-Ntende, the President of the Court of Appeal, Francis MacGregor, the Attorney General, Ronny Govinden and the judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal as well as members of the Constitutional Appointments Authority.

President Michel expressed his congratulations to Justice Fiona Robinson after taking up her post. “This is an another important milestone for Seychelles as we now have five Seychellois judges in the country, of which  two are female judges.  We expect the judiciary to work hard to serve the people of Seychelles and with your energy and expertise, you will undoubtedly contribute to the improvement of the legal system,” said President Michel.

Mrs Fiona Robinson, who is 38 years old, is now the youngest judge in the Seychelles judiciary, as well as the first female Seychellois judge of the Supreme Court, and alongside the Justice of the Court Appeal Court, Mrs Mathilda Twomey (appointed in April 2011), Mrs Robinson is the second female judge of the country. Judge Robinson replaces Judge Duncan Gaswaga, whose contract has ended.

Mrs. Robinson holds a Master of Laws in International Maritime Law with Distinction from the International Maritime Organisation International Maritime Law Institute in Malta and a Degree of Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Mauritius.

Mrs. Robinson started her legal career in 2001 as a State Counsel at the Chambers of the Attorney General, where she was also nominated to form part of the Seychelles Maritime Delimitation Technical Committee and appointed as the Legal Advisor to the Seychelles Fishing Authority. In 2005 she was promoted to Senior State Counsel, and in 2007, Mrs Robinson was appointed to the post of Principal Legislative Drafter.

In 2010 she was appointed as the Director General of the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration, as was the National Coordinator for the GEF-Western Indian Ocean Marine Highway Development and Coastal and Marine Contamination Prevention Project. During this period Mrs Robinson was also a Member of the High Level Committee on Piracy.

From 2011 to 2012, Mrs. Robinson was a consultant with various Ministries and organisations, where  she worked on the drafting of laws as well as reports for the implementation of international conventions.