Jamaicans Say Farewell to Carl Rattray

Jamaicans from all walks of life turned out to bid farewell to the late Hon. Justice Carl Rattray, at an Official Thanksgiving Service, held at the historic University Chapel at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Tuesday March 27.

The country’s leaders, members of the Jamaican Bar Association, the Dispute Resolution Foundation, representatives of academia, the business sector, civil society, the diplomatic corps, and ordinary Jamaicans, turned out to pay their respects to the man who commanded the respect of many.

Among those in attendance were Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, who read the first lesson; Former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson; and Leader of Opposition Business, Senator Arthur Williams, who read the second lesson.

In a tribute to the late lawyer, judge and parliamentarian, Mr. Patterson said he was a colleague, a partner, a comrade, a friend, and a brother, noting that he was first and foremost a human being who sought to find in each and every individual some redeeming grace.

"Carl made good use of his tremendous legal acuity to assist the downtrodden and unfortunate. It is a tribute to his basic decency and his commitment to positive values and attitudes that he was not just concerned with victims, but also with the perpetrators of crime and violence,” he said.

Mr. Patterson noted that “he (Mr. Rattray) saw in every guilty man a soul to be saved and a life to be turned around. He was never limited just by the present reality, but always looking at the amazing possibilities."

He pointed out that Mr. Rattray’s service to the judiciary has been hailed as being of the highest quality and his learned judgements will withstand the test of time.

Mr. Patterson said Mr. Rattray was a unique Jamaican, noting that he was the only Jamaican who was elected to the legislature, who served in the Cabinet and the executive and then proceeded to be a distinguished member of the judiciary.

Chief Justice, Hon. Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla, said Mr. Rattray "was a man with a social conscience, who was consumed with a passion for justice."

“He lived a life that was characterised by decency and civility. We give thanks for his distinguished service and for the contribution that this outstanding jurist had made to the development of the law,” she said.

Attorney-at-Law, Valrie Neita Robertson, who spoke on behalf of the Jamaican Bar Association, said Mr. Rattray was a Jamaican of wondrous accomplishments.

"Unquestionably Jamaica and the other countries in the region are significantly poorer for his passing. His contributions to nation building and institution building have been gargantuan,’ she said.

In remembering Mr. Rattray, family friend, Howard Malcolm noted that he was the rare embodiment of an unusual mix of talents and personality traits. “He was bright, intellectually gifted, witty, charming, considerate, selfless and modest. He had an unusual sense of humour and enjoyed a good joke,” he said.

There were also tributes from the Dispute Resolution Foundation, Saxthorpe Methodist Church, Helen Bromley and Sharda Spence.

Mr. Rattray was born in St. Elizabeth on September 18, 1929, and was educated at Beckford and Smith’s High School (now St. Jago High), Lincoln’s Inn School of Law and the Inns of Court, London. He was employed in the Colonial Office, London, in the West Indies Welfare Division 1955 to 1956 and was called to the Bar in Jamaica in 1958. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1969.

Along with former Prime Minister Patterson and the late Alfred Rattray, he was a founding partner in the law firm Rattray, Patterson, Rattray. He was elevated from private practice to President of the Court of Appeal where he served from 1993 until his retirement from the Bench in 1999.

Mr. Rattray was also a founding member and past chairman of the Jamaica Council for Human Rights. He was a member of the People’s National Party and was Member of Parliament for South East St. Catherine from 1989 to 1993.

The outstanding Jamaican served in several capacities in governmen tand in Parliament. He was Attorney General and Minister of Justice from 1989 to 1992 and was Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs from 1992 to 1993. He was Leader of Government Business in the Senate from 1978 to 1980.

By Athaliah Reynolds-Baker, JIS Reporter