Supreme Court pays tribute to John Alcantara, trailblazing judge with a human touch

The Supreme Court paid tribute on Thursday to John Alcantara, Gibraltar’s first Gibraltarian puisne judge, who died earlier this year aged 99.

The tribute was led by Chief Justice Anthony Dudley, who described Mr Alcantara as “one of the outstanding Gibraltarians of his generation” whose life had been devoted to public service.

Mr Alcantara was actively involved in politics and served in the House of Assembly with the AACR aged 27, before devoting his life to the judiciary, first in Belize and later in Gibraltar, and finally serving as Speaker of Parliament.

Mr Justice Dudley was flanked by his fellow judges as he addressed a courtroom filled with lawyers young and old, with Mr Alcantara’s family packing the public gallery.

The Chief Justice described Mr Alcantara as “a trailblazer” who had paved the way for fellow Gibraltarian judges, himself included.

“If times had been a little different, he would have, or if life was fair, he should have, been our first Gibraltarian Chief Justice,” Mr Justice Dudley said, adding that in his early years as a judge, he had often thought to himself: “What would John have done?”

“My sense of him was that he was anchored in who he was, a proud Gibraltarian, self-assured but never arrogant.”

“Not one to suffer fools gladly, he had an extraordinary sense of fairness and justice and an awareness of human frailty which made him deal with those appearing before him with humanity.”

Mr Justice Dudley also remembered “his wit and dry sense of humour.”

“Far more important than any of his very many accomplishments, he was a very good man.”

And he added: “The judiciary, the legal profession and Gibraltar at large owe him a huge debt of gratitude, not only for his many years of service but for how he carried out that service.”
David Dumas, KC, addressing the packed courtroom for the Law Council, said Mr Alcantara’s legacy would live on in the memories of many people from all walks of life.

As a judge, he applied “sound legal principles and common sense” to the cases that came before him, following whatever course justice required and always showing “worthy concern for the common man and the common good”, and “all in plain language”, he said.

Echoing the Chief Justice, Mr Dumas underlined “the valuable work he did and the valuable good that he did” for this community.

The court heard too from Mr Alcantara’s granddaughters, both lawyers.

Louise Federico spoke of how proud and honoured she had been as a pupil when Mr Alcantara had attended a mock trial at her school, adding that it was this that sparked her interest in the law.

She described him as a “wise and sensible” man with a sense of humour that made them “laugh and wince in embarrassment on occasion”.

And she spoke of his sense of fairness and how he had instilled this in his granddaughters from an early age.

Recounting a childhood anecdote, she recalled how he would always present them with a bar of chocolate and these sage words: “One of you cuts it in half and the other gets to pick.”

The last tribute came from another granddaughter, Kim Alcantara, also a lawyer but practising in England and Wales.

Rather than reminisce about her grandfather, Ms Alcantara used the opportunity to ask those present to reflect on the legal profession, adding that she believed this is what he would have preferred her to do.

Appearing without her lawyer’s robe, she said that despite being a lawyer in England and Wales for nearly 15 years, “I have not been permitted to join the ranks of Gibraltar lawyers as I choose to serve my profession from within a company rather than from a law firm”.

“It saddens me that my grandfather has now passed without being able to see his eldest granddaughter admitted in the place where he administered justice,” Ms Alcantara said.

Ms Alcantara said in-house lawyers in Gibraltar were still not recognised as contributing members of the legal community and were “still seen as second-class citizens” despite years trying to be regulated.

“Protectionism serves no one and no country well,” she said, adding that “the door remains closed for many who should belong”.

Concluding her address, Ms Alcantara described her grandfather as “a brilliant man” who fought hard for the principles he believed in.

“He was steadfast in his commitment to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary,” she told those gathered.

“He did not think that lawyers should be a special class of citizens, above the law and entrenched in power.”

“As many of you will recognise from his judgements, he wanted above all for justice to be properly done.”

Citing Lord Bingham, she said there were countries where all judicial decisions found favour with the powers that be, but they were probably places where people would prefer not to live.

“Let’s make sure Gibraltar never becomes one of them,” she said.

“Let’s make sure the legacy we leave is one of inclusion, not exclusion; justice, not privilege; progress, not protection.”

After the tributes, the court held a minute’s silence in honour of the late Mr Alcantara.