(CMR) Ramon Alberga KC, who was referred to as the legal Hercules by his former colleagues, passed away on Tuesday, 23 January. Alberga retired in 2021 at the age of 92 after serving as a consulting editor of the Cayman Islands Law Reports (CILR) for over 40 years and a lawyer for over 70 years.
“The Judiciary is saddened to note the passing of Mr. Ramon Alberga OBE KC on Tuesday 23rd January 2024. Mr. Alberga was known as the Doyen and Father of the Cayman Islands Bar, and rightly so in recognition of his esteemed legal career. This spanned close to seventy years in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands,” the Judiciary said in a statement.
“His contribution to the development of the jurisprudence in this jurisdiction cannot be overstated and is duly deserving of the special place of honor which he held each year at the ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year,” the statement continued.
Alberga has made a significant contribution to law reporting in the Cayman Islands and to the establishment and development of the CILR.
He was called to the English bar in 1951 and shortly after to the Jamaican bar, where he had a very successful practice and was subsequently appointed a QC.
In the 1960s and 70s, it was common for Cayman attorneys to instruct QCs based in Jamaica to appeal for more complex hearings. Alberga was instructed to appear in the Grand Court by William Walker in 1964. He soon found himself in great demand in the Cayman Islands, so in 1975, he decided to move here with his family.
In the 1980s, Alberga was elected president of the Cayman Islands Law Society. During that time, he shared his concern that judgments of the courts were not readily available. This prompted the decision to explore the possibility of establishing law reports. The first column was published in 1986.
At the outset, Alberga very generously made available his own private collection of judgments and encouraged other leading practitioners to do the same. Albergas collection was uniquely extensive and comprehensive and made up a large majority of the judgments published in the early volumes of the CILR.
He worked with Dr. Alan Milner, a fellow and law tutor from Oxford University, to select, compile, edit, and publish judgments for inclusion in Law reports. The first volume of the CILR was published in 1987, covering judgments from 1984 to 1985.
Retrospective volumes were published of judgments delivered in earlier years back to 1953 and notes of even earlier cases back to 1894. Since his first involvement in the project, up to the time of his retirement in 2021, Alberga carefully read and considered and gave his views on every judgment delivered by the Cayman Islands Courts since 1952, a task worthy of this legal Hercules.
In 2002 he was awarded an OBE for his service to the public. In 2011 at the opening of the Grand Court, on the 60th anniversary of Alberga’s call to the Bar, in recognition of his years of dedicated service, his portrait was mounted in the foyer of the Court. He was the first attorney and only non-judge to be afforded this honor.
This is reflective of the level of respect and the regard in which he is held. It was and will always be said of him that he fulfilled his duty as an officer of the Court in every sense of the word, the Judiciary said.
The Judiciary said Alberga would be greatly missed by all who knew him, and the Hon. Chief Justice and the entire Judiciary expressed sincere condolences to his family and friends.
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