On the 27th June, 2025, another name on the roll of Attorneys-at- Law transitioned to the roll of colleagues of blessed memory. This transition occurred with the passing of Justice (ret’d) William Rajendra Ramal. We at the Guyana Bar Association were saddened at the passing of yet another legal luminary.
Always the consummate teacher, Mr. Justice Ramlal started his legal career after first being a teacher in the private and then the public sector in the 1970s, ending his teaching career in 1978 when he began law studies.
He spent between 1978 and 1984 in law studies at the University of the Indies and the Hugh Wooding law school and was admitted to practice as an Attorney-at-Law in Guyana in 1984.
Mr. Justice Ramlal began his legal career at the Attorney General’s Chambers where he served as State Counsel and Senior State Counsel between 1984 and 1988.
Mr. Justice Ramlal served as a Magistrate in 1988 and 1989 and then left the Magistracy for a period of private practice between 1989 and 1991. Mr. Justice Ramlal rejoined the magistracy, where he served with distinction as Magistrate, Senior Magistrate, and Principal Magistrate between 1991 and 2000.
In July, 2000, Mr. Justice Ramlal was appointed a Judge of the High Court, which position he served for the next 16 ½ years, retiring in January, 2017. He served with equal distinction in the criminal and civil spheres, delivering a number of key legal judgments in constitutional law, commercial law and criminal law.
Even after his retirement, he continued to serve the legal profession as chairman of the Police Complaints Authority.
He was a man of principle who took the served rule of law without fear or favour even being willing to challenge the system from within as a sitting judge, seeking the answer from the court when clarification was needed on the ability to perform the role of Chancellor and Chief Justice.
As a member of a family of Attorneys-at-Law, we at the Bar Association of Guyana offer to his sister, former registrar, Ms. Sita Ramlal, his niece, our colleague Ms. Arianne McLean, all his grieving relatives, our deepest sympathies and condolences.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
