Sir Scott Baker, a Justice in the Bermuda Court of Appeal, has been appointed by Governor George Fergusson to the position of President of the Court.

From January 1, Lord Justice Baker will succeed Justice Edward Zacca, who steps down on December 31.

“In the appointment of Sir Scott, Bermuda will continue to have world-class leadership of a world-class court,” Mr Fergusson said. “Sir Scott is an immensely distinguished jurist and I am delighted that he has agreed to take on this important role.

“I would also thank Justice Zacca for his remarkable record of service here. He has served on the Bermuda Court of Appeal since 1996 and as President since 2004. He has brought to the court not only his great wisdom but also his extraordinarily broad experience, as a long-serving Chief Justice of Jamaica, a member of the Privy Council, and President of the Courts of Appeal of the Bahamas, Cayman and of the Turks & Caicos Islands, where he is still the Court’s President.”

Lord Justice Baker has been a member of the Bermuda Court of Appeal since March 2011. He was appointed a High Court judge in England in 1988, becoming Lead Judge in the Administrative Court in 2000. In 2002, he became a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.

His most high-profile role before arriving in Bermuda was to sit as coroner at the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed.

Since its establishment in November 2013, the Judicial and Legal Services Committee has made recommendations to the Governor on the appointment of judges, magistrates and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“I am grateful to the Judicial and Legal Services Committee for their work in making recommendations for these senior judicial appointments,” Mr Fergusson added. “With the appointments to the Court earlier this year of Sir Maurice Kay and Justice Patricia Dangor, the Court is very well equipped to give the community and commerce of Bermuda the high quality of justice which Bermuda needs and deserves.”