The Pitcairn Constitution Order 2010

Judges of Supreme Court

47.—(1) The judges of the Supreme Court shall be a Chief Justice and such number of other judges (if any) as may be prescribed by law.

(2) If the office of Chief Justice is vacant, or the Chief Justice has not assumed, or is for any reason unable to perform the functions of, that office, those functions may be performed by—

(a)the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court in terms of the date of his or her appointment; or

(b)if there is no such judge, or if for any reason no such judge is able to perform the functions of the office of Chief Justice, then, unless this Constitution otherwise provides, those functions may be performed by an acting judge of the Supreme Court authorised to perform those functions by the Governor.

(3) If—

(a)in the circumstances described in subsection (2), there is no judge who can perform the functions of the office of Chief Justice; or

(b)the state of the business of the Supreme Court makes it desirable that an additional person should be appointed by whom the Supreme Court may be held,

the Governor may decide that an acting judge should be appointed to hold the Supreme Court.

(4) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chief Justice or any other judge or acting judge of the Supreme Court unless—

(a)he or she is, or has been, a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or in Ireland, or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court; or

(b)he or she is entitled to practise as an advocate in such a court and has been entitled for not less than seven years to practise as an advocate or solicitor in such a court.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a person shall be regarded as an advocate or a solicitor if he or she has been called, enrolled or otherwise admitted as such (and has not subsequently been disbarred or removed from the roll of advocates or solicitors) notwithstanding that—

(a)he or she holds or acts in any office the holder of which is, by reason of his or her office, precluded from practising in a court; or

(b)he or she does not hold a practising certificate or has not satisfied any other like condition of being permitted to practise.