PantonJustice Seymour Panton is to be the new president of the Court of Appeal with effect from July 8.
He succeeds Justice Paul Harrison who is retiring on July 6.
This was stated in a press release from King's House yesterday.
Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall said he made the appointment following the recommendation of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller after consultation with Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding.
Jamaica, Cayman link
Justice Panton has served with distinction in the legal and judicial services both in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands, the press release stated.
He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, London, on November 26, 1968. He started his legal career in 1964 as an assistant clerk of courts in Lucea, Hanover, the parish of his birth, and was appointed a clerk of courts in 1969.
Between 1973 and 1978, Justice Panton worked with The Cayman Islands Government, first as a legal assistant to the Attorney-General and later as a senior Crown Counsel.
Appeal since 1998
In 1978, he was appointed a resident magistrate in Jamaica, a position he held until 1981 when he was appointed to act as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court. He was confirmed in the post of puisne judge in 1986 and started acting as a judge of the Court of Appeal in 1998.
On November 3, 1999, Justice Panton was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal, a position he held until this appointment as president of the Court of Appeal.
A past head boy of Rusea's High School and former president of the Rusea's Old Students' Association, Justice Panton has also acted as a judge of the Grand Court of The Cayman Islands on several occasions.
He is a former vice-president of the Resident Magistrates' Association and a former council member of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judge's Association.
Justice Panton received the award of the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) in 2006, for outstanding services to the judiciary.
A lay preacher in the Methodist Church since 1981, Justice Panton is married to Carla and has two adult children - Dr. Suzette-Ann Panton Latouche and Sandor Ramon Panton.
