Ira De Cordova Rowe
The Hon. Ira De Cordova Rowe, Q.C., O.J. (8 February 1928 – 25 January 2004) was one of the jurists of the Commonwealth Caribbean. His decisions on Jamaican, Belizan and Bahamian Constitution Law created a new Commonwealth jurisprudence based on the Westminster Model with a strong reliance on the wording of the new Commonwealth Caribbean Constitutions. Judge Rowe's fearless support for the Caribbean Court of Justice swayed many of the Court's initial critics. His belief that Caribbean students were as good as any law students in the world inspired many young lawyers of Caribbean heritage. Always a scholar, Judge Rowe thought that judges ought not to usurp the role of the legislator and based most of his more than five hundred published Opinions on principles of English and Caribbean Law as laid down in precedents and statutes. He believed that the newly independent Caribbean nations needed efficient, practical legal systems based on certainty and stability. He considered The Most Hon. Norman Washington Manley Q.C. a professional mentor.
Ira Rowe served as President of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica and President of the Court of Appeal of Belize. He also served on the Court of Appeal of the Grand Cayman, The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. He served as Solicitor General of Jamaica.
Ira Rowe was the judicial giant of Caribbean jurisprudence in the last three decades of the Twentieth century. He was the author of many significant decisions including the Queen v Oliver Whylie, which codified the law of identification in the Caribbean; and Belize Alliance vs the Department of the Environment and Belize Electric Company Ltd., the most significant environmental decision in the Commonwealth Caribbean. His role in chairing the Family Law Committee in Jamaica led to the repeal of bastardy laws in Jamaica. Most other Caribbean Commonwealth jurisdictions followed.