New Attorney-General Sworn in for St Kitts & Nevis!
Honourable Senator Garth Lucien Wilkin was sworn in as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs in the new Cabinet of the Government of St Kitts and Nevis on 13th August 2022 during an official ceremony held at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts. The new Cabinet, appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister Honorable Dr. Terrance Drew, political leader of the St Kitts Nevis Labour Party, was sworn in following the party’s success at the polls in the August 5th General Elections.
The Federation’s newest Attorney-General has an impressive background within the legal fraternity. A Kittitian by birth, the Attorney-General is admitted to practice in St Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat and Antigua & Barbuda. His areas of expertise during his practice with the oldest law firm in St Kitts and Nevis, Kelsick, Wilkin & Ferdinand, included General Commercial Litigation, Banking, Insurance, Construction Litigation & Arbitration, Injunctive Relief Litigation, Employment and Environmental Law.
The Attorney-General holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Cum Laude) from Virginia Tech, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill and a Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School, where he graduated as a member of the Principal’s Roll of Honour.
During his time reading Law, the Attorney-General was awarded four prizes for placing first in his class: the Joseph Archibald QC Prize (Alternative Dispute Resolution), the Michael March Memorial Prize (Remedies), the Hon. Mr. Justice Kenneth Smith, OJ Prize (Trial Advocacy) and the coveted Chairman’s Prize (Evidence, Forensic Medicine, Civil Procedure II, Remedies). Being an ardent mooter, he represented the University of the West Indies at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington DC (2008) and the Norman Manley Law School at the Margaret Forte Memorial Inter-Schools Mooting Competition in Trinidad and The Bahamas (2010). His article entitled: “The Doctrine of Legitimate Expectations: Its Development as a Fetter on Administrative Action in the Commonwealth Caribbean” was published in the UWI Student Law Review (March/April 2008).
During his first three years of practice, Mr. Wilkin acted as Crown Counsel Prosecutor in the High Courts of St Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla. Prior to his appointment as Attorney-General, he served as the President of the St Kitts & Nevis Bar Association; on the Management Council of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society; and on the Board of Directors for Federation Media Group Limited, an independent media company operating as WINN Media SKN/WINN FM. He still serves as the Cricket West Indies representative on the Cricket Tournament Committee of the Caribbean Premier League.
The Attorney-General is also an avid sportsman having represented St Kitts at cricket, Virginia Tech at table tennis and Harrison College (Barbados) at cricket, track and field, tennis, and table tennis. He still plays tennis and football regularly.
The Attorney-General holds Ministerial responsibility for the Law Commission as set out in section 2 of the Law Commission Act, Cap.1.03.
The Law Commissioner and its Staff look forward to working with the new Attorney-General in advancing the work of the Commission in every respect, as the Commission seeks to uphold the Rule of Law in its advancement of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of the Federation of St Kitts & Nevis, by providing free and unhindered access to the laws and the provision of laws that are regularly revised, consolidated, up-to-date, relevant and published in order to meet the historic, socio-economic and political circumstances of the people of St Kitts & Nevis.
