Former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Carl Rattray is dead.
He died at his St. Andrew home today after ailing for the last four years.
Justice Rattray was president of the Court of Appeal from 1993 to 1999 when he retired.
He was born in St. Elizabeth in 1929 and began his legal career in England, before being called to the bar in Jamaica in 1958.
He was a founding partner of the law firm Rattray, Patterson, Rattray.
Justice Rattray was also a founding member and past chairman of the Jamaica Council for Human Rights and was also a member of the People’s National Party.
Rattray served in several capacities in government and in the parliament, including as attorney general and justice minister.
Retired President of the Court of Appeal Paul Harrison has described Justice Rattray as a very good President of the Court of Appeal.
Justice Harrison said initially people were wary of Rattray’s appointment since he came to the Bench from the political arena, but that he turned out to be a very balanced judge.
According to Harrison, Justice Rattray was totally committed to law and enjoyed a very good relationship with all the judges of the Court of Appeal right up to the time of his retirement.
