Byron & Byron
Attorneys-at-Law of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Terence V. Byron, C.M.G.
erence V. Byron, C.M.G., is the Senior Partner of Byron & Byron.
Having won the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Statehood Scholarship in 1967, Terence entered Cambridge University in 1968, taking a Degree in Modern Languages and Law at Fitzwilliam College in 1971. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in July 1972. He was then called to the Bar of St. Kitts and Nevis in November 1972 and joined Cecil Byron, Esq., and Dennis Byron, Esq., as they then were, at Byron & Byron. Terence is also qualified to practise in Anguilla since 1977.
Terence acted as Attorney-General of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis on a number of occasions between 1985 and 1995. In March 1980, he was appointed Press and Public Relations Secretary to the Premier, later Prime Minister, of St. Kitts and Nevis.
In 1986, he became His Excellency Terence Byron, on his respective appointments as the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to The Republic of China on Taiwan and as the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Both were non-resident appointments, which he held until July 1995. In the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for 1994, Terence was awarded the title of C.M.G. when he was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
Terence is widely known for his meticulous legal draftsmanship, and is also highly experienced in civil litigation, having appeared at all Court levels in St. Kitts and Nevis, including regular appearances before the Court of Appeal, and in numerous cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which is the final appellate Court for St. Kitts and Nevis. In 2008 Terence appeared before the Privy Council with Mr. Karl Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., in the case of Inniss v The Attorney General of St. Christopher and Nevis where they secured a landmark judgment for Ms. Angela Inniss, former Registrar of the High Court, for vindicatory damages of EC$100,000 for breach of her constitutional rights. The Privy Council took special note in their judgment of the thorough submissions of Counsel Terence Byron.
In 1988, Terence first appeared at the Privy Council with Mr. Karl Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., in the appeal of France and Bryant v Simmonds, in which they successfully represented then Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Kennedy Simmonds, winning a judgment of $75,000, the largest award of damages for defamation in the entire Commonwealth Caribbean at that time.
Terence is an avid fan of cricket and enjoys calypso. He is the Choir Director of the Immanuel Methodist Church Senior Choir, and also enjoys serving as an organist for that Church. He is a Founding Director of the St. Kitts Biomedical Research Foundation and has served on the Board of Directors for over 30 years. He has a working knowledge of Spanish and French.