Appointment of Justices of the Peace

(1) The Attorney General shall appoint a Justice of the Peace in accordance with this section, 5 (2) A person may be appointed as a Justice of the Peace under this section where the person, (a) has a clean police record; and (b) is worthy of appointment to the office of Justice of the Peace based on the person’s character and civic contributions to his community; and (c) has been recommended by the Association as a fit and proper person to be appointed as a (d) applies to be a Justice of the Peace and satisfies the Attorney General that he is a fit and proper person to be appointed as a Justice of the Peace; or (e) has been recommended for appointment as a Justice of the Peace or a Senior Justice of the Peace by a Village Council pursuant to section 21 (2)(b)of the Village Councils Act, Cap. 88. (3) The Attorney General may, after consultation with the Association or in his own discretion, appoint a Justice of the Peace to be a Senior Justice of the Peace where the Justice of the Peace, in addition to possessing the relevant qualifications set out in subsection (2) of this section, (a) has performed the functions of a Justice of the Peace for not less than ten years and during that time, has complied with all of the requirements of sections 5and 6 of this Act; and (b) has knowledge of the requirement of section 17 of the Marriage Act providing for the 6 performance of a marriage by a Senior Justice of the Peace; and (c) is a fit and proper person to be appointed as a Senior Justice of the Peace. (4) The Attorney General may revoke the appointment of a Justice of the Peace or a Senior Justice of the Peace by a Warrant of Removal where the person, (a) has been convicted of an offence punishable by two or more years imprisonment; (b) has engaged in acts of misconduct and the Attorney General, after giving the person an opportunity to exculpate himself in writing, is satisfied that the person is no longer a fit and proper person to be a Justice of the Peace or a Senior Justice of the Peace; or (c) has been expelled or suspended from the Association, or where the Association has recommended the revocation of the appointment, and the Attorney General, after giving the person the opportunity to exculpate himself in writing, is satisfied that the person is no longer a fit and proper person to be a Justice of the Peace or a Senior (5) The Commission of Appointment, the Oath of Allegiance and Office and the Warrant of Removal in relation to Justices of the Peace are set out in the First, Second and Third Schedules respectively. (6) The Commission of Appointment of a Senior Justice of Peace is set out in the First Schedule. 7 (7) An appointment or removal made under this section shall be published in the Gazette. (8) Every Chief Executive Officer of a Ministry and Clerk of Court and every Ambassador, Consul General, Honorary Consul or other principal representative of Belize in a foreign country shall be an ex- officio Justice of the Peace and, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall possess all the powers, privileges, rights and jurisdiction of a Justice of the Peace.