HerStory: Starting at the Top
The Honourable Mme. Justice Chantal Ononaiwu
Kindness * Community *Tenacity
On Tuesday, the 29th of October, 2024, The Honourable Mme. Justice Chantal Ononaiwu (OH-noh-NAY-woo) was sworn in as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). It was an extremely proud moment for all women judges across the Caribbean. Within a relatively short time of the announcement being made, the Jamaica Association of Women Judges, Caribbean Association of Women Judges and International Association of Women Judges reached out to her in what she described as, ‘this kind, genuine, outpouring of pride and affirmation.’ She experienced, first-hand, the empowering system of support that women judges’ associations can be.
Justice Ononaiwu has over 20 years’ experience at the Bar with specialist expertise in Caribbean Community Law and International Law. She has varied experience as an international adjudicator, legal practitioner and university lecturer. She is a Rhodes Scholar, holds a DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford, an LLM from the University of Cambridge and an LLB (First Class Honours) from the University of the West Indies.
I was delighted when she agreed to sit with me on a Wednesday afternoon to share her story. Justice Ononaiwu’s story is indeed one worth telling. It is not that she is the first woman to sit on the CCJ. Justices Désirée Bernard and Maureen Rajnauth- Lee, both of whom have been patrons of women judges associations, blazed the trail before her. However, both women were elevated to the apex court after long and illustrious judicial careers. This is the first judicial appointment for The Honourable Mme. Justice Chantal Ononaiwu. She is starting at the top.
Justice Ononaiwu was warm and inviting as we sat for our chat. I was struck by her profound kindness, her love of community and tenacity. I learnt that for much of her career, Justice Ononaiwu had been a servant of the Caribbean Community, working with the External Trade team of the CARICOM Secretariat for over fifteen years. She saw the appointment to the CCJ as a continuation of that service, albeit in a new capacity.
I had been a servant of the Caribbean Community for a long time. I have served in different roles. I have been a legal advisor, treaty negotiator and a litigator for the Community. [As such] the idea of being possibly a judge of the Community was something that did cross my mind.
With the encouragement of others, she took the next step.
There were people who encouraged me to apply. I was also moved to apply because of the requirement for the judge to have expertise in international law, including international trade law. That is one of my areas of expertise. I was drawn to the opportunity to not only serve on an Apex court but a court which has a very important role as an international tribunal and in our regional integration.
Judge and I segued naturally into a discussion about ‘ambition’ and the fact that ‘ambition’ was sometimes perceived as a negative trait when applied to women. Ambition was not a ‘dirty’ word; was it?
I don’t think ambition is a bad word at all. I don’t think ambition should be rabid and unchecked and unhinged but I think sometimes, particularly with women, there is a tendency to ascribe a pejorative or negative connotation to ambition. I do have goals. I do have aspirations. And I don’t think there is anything wrong in being open with yourself that you have those ambitions…Frankly, if it is important and it is useful, let others know you have those ambitions. Sometimes, letting other people know that something is on your radar opens up opportunities for mentorship, guidance and advice, which might otherwise not arise if you don’t share the aspirations which you may have for the future.
“Letting other people know that something is on your radar opens up opportunities for mentorship, guidance and advice which might otherwise not arise if you don’t share the aspirations which you have for the future.”
I enquired about the childhood that helped shape this inspiring, tenacious and unapologetic, woman-judge. Justice Ononaiwu disclosed that she is the daughter of a librarian and an insurance agent turned entrepreneur.
My mother was a career librarian. A big part of my childhood was [spent] actually tagging along with her. When I was in primary school, many of my days after school were spent in the library in which she worked. And the community of librarians that she was a part of formed a very big part of my childhood. One of them was the closest to a grandmother I actually experienced.
Not surprising, this daughter of a librarian, is a bibliophile. I wondered, if we were to sneak a peek into her personal library, what would we find there? The Polished Hoe by Barbadian, Canadian author, Austin Clarke as well as his work, The Prime Minister, which was earmarked as her next read. We would also find anything by Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Why Adichie?
I am drawn to her writing for a number of reasons. She is Nigerian like I am. My Dad is Igbo so when she writes about her heritage, it speaks to me.
And so, I stumbled upon another very interesting fact about Justice Ononaiwu; her mixed heritage.
I am very much Jamaican and Caribbean. I was born and raised in Jamaica. My formative years were spent in Jamaica. But I think anyone with a strong Nigerian parent [knows] that that is very much likely to be part of your identity as well. Nigerians are a very proud people. Very proud of their heritage and culture. It was something which was very much part of my upbringing. It is so much a part of my identity that even though I live in an anglophone part of the world, I never changed my name after getting married because I am Ononaiwu and so it is very much part of my identity and heritage. [Growing up] I knew Igbo culture. I grew up exposed to Nigerian dishes. There is a very visible Nigerian community in Jamaica which my father was always a part of so I grew up meeting many Nigerians in Jamaica.
Justice Ononaiwu is not only a daughter. She is a wife and a mother of a son, 14 and a daughter, 10. I asked her how she prepared her family for her new role.
My husband and I discussed very carefully my interest in becoming a judge at the CCJ. He is also a member of the legal profession so he understood what would come with it in some respects. The preparation for my children is gradual. In some ways I don’t want them to think that I am no longer their mom and no longer available to them. I don’t want to disappear as their mother because I have assumed this role. Nor do I want to disappear as a wife. Or as a daughter or as a sister or as an aunty. Those roles are very dear to me and I don’t want them to disappear.
“I don’t want to disappear as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister or as an aunty. Those roles are very dear to me.”
Therefore, it was not surprising that her family members were pronouncedly present at her swearing-in ceremony. However, so were friends. I asked her about the role that friendships with other women have played in her life. She returned again to the recurring theme of community.
Some of my dearest friends date back to high school, are friends whom I have known since my first year of the LLB or are women I have met in other parts of the world. That community of women has been very important to me because of the experiences we have shared, the advice we have given to each other, the comfort we have provided to each other through very difficult times in our life. They are people I have shared the most joyous occasions of my life with and I am privileged that I am able to call them friend.
We also discussed the significance of the court of which she was now a member.
In media releases about the CCJ, there is often a reference to the region coming of age and to the court being a realization of the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors. The biggest imperative for an indigenous apex court is the reality that such a court is better positioned or quite frankly, best positioned, to adjudicate on matters and develop jurisprudence that is grounded in an understanding of our society, our goals, aspirations and realities.
Justice Ononaiwu expressed her hope that she would become known as a judge who is rigorous, dynamic in thinking and fair; an open-minded and impartial judge who has made a significant contribution to building Caribbean Jurisprudence.
Finally, was there any aspect of being a judge to which she was not looking forward? She was pragmatic and authentic in her response.
The endless periods of sitting. And it’s not just sitting when you’re in court. It’s the sitting which comes with the preparation that is required.
However, she planned to counter the effects of prolonged sitting by a commitment to regular physical activity.
I learnt to ride a bike in my twenties. I was going to study at Oxford [for the doctoral studies] and my college was located extremely far from where the law faculty and City Centre were. So, my husband taught me how to cycle. [Since then], I have tried to keep up with cycling. I have spaces I go to and just being outdoors and feeling the rush of the wind on you…I learnt to swim properly less than five years ago because both of my children at the time were swimming competitively. I found myself going to the pool, dropping them off and sitting in the car for almost an hour, waiting on them. [One day] their swim coach asked me, “Are you going to constantly sit and wait for them or are you going to get into the pool?” I took her up on the offer!
We congratulate The Honourable Mme. Justice Chantal Ononaiwu on her appointment and wish her our very best!
As told to Master Sherlanne Pierre, IAWJ Regional Director, Latin America and Caribbean.