| Lyna Mohamad |
TWO senior members of the Judiciary were among the recipients bestowed with state decorations by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam at the Audience and Investiture Ceremony yesterday.
President of the Court of Appeal Dato Seri Paduka John Barry Mortimer was conferred the Most Honourable Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei, First Class, (SPMB), which carries the title Dato Seri Paduka.
Born in the United Kingdom in 1931, Dato Seri Paduka John Barry Mortimer has been a member of the Brunei Judiciary for over 30 years. He obtained a BA and MA from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge in 1955 and was called to the English Bar by the Middle Temple in 1956 and was a Harmsworth Law Scholar of the Middle Temple in 1957.
He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1971 and was elected a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 1980 and served as a Recorder of the Crown Court from 1971 to 1985. He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 1999.
In 1985, Dato Seri Paduka Mortimer joined Hong Kong Judiciary as a Judge of the High Court and in 1993 was appointed a Justice of Appeal and later in 1997 became a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final where he served until 1999.
From July 20, 1987 to July 19, 1990, Dato Seri Paduka Mortimer was appointed to become a member of the Brunei Judiciary to preside over High Court cases and was appointed a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court to hear Court of Appeal cases from April 27, 2005 and was later appointed President of the Court of Appeal Brunei Darussalam from May 1, 2010 to date.
Meanwhile, Judicial Comm-issioner of the Supreme Court Dato Seri Laila Jasa James Kerr Findlay was conferred the Most Distinguished Order of Paduka Seri Laila Jasa, Second Class (DSLJ) that carries the title Dato Seri Laila Jasa.
Dato Seri Laila Jasa James Kerr Findlay has been with the Brunei Judiciary since August 30, 2001 with his first appointment as Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court and has conducted cases in the High Court as a visiting judge since 2001 until present.
Born in Scotland on January 25, 1936, he began his career at the age of 25 as a stipendiary magistrate in Rhodesia from 1961 to 1964 where he mostly exercised civil jurisdiction in interlocutory matters and trials.
After several career moves from 1978 to 1981, he was appointed Parliamentary Counsel in the Lords Advocate’s Chambers in London and was responsible for drafting a considerable amount of important legislation including the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act and then joined the Hong Kong Attorney General’s Chambers in 1981 as a Deputy Principal Crown Counsel.
He was promoted Principal Crown Counsel and then appointed Deputy Law Draftsman within a year where he was responsible for drafting a considerable amount of heavy legislation including tax, landlord and tenant legislations and the Conveyancing and Property Ordinance.
Appointed the Solicitor General from 1984 to 1986, he joined the Hong Kong Judiciary in March 1989 until April 1990 as Deputy High Court Judge involved in commercial, construction and equity cases.
Dato Seri Laila Jasa Findlay was appointed a permanent Hong Kong High Court Judge in charge of Commercial, Construction and Arbitration List from 1994 to 2000 and retired in March 2000 and took up appointments as a Chartered Arbitrator and from 2001 to present was appointed to sit as a visiting Judge in the Supreme Court Brunei Darussalam.
He was awarded with the Order of the British Empire in 1991 and Gold Bauhinia Star in 2001.