Louis de Souza (barrister)
Louis Jessamy de Souza Aranha (1858-1889) was an outspoken West Indian barrister who challenged judicial excesses in British Guiana (current day Guyana).
Early life and education
[edit]De Souza was born in Inagua, Bahamas, the son of Francis Aranha,[1][2] a businessman of Portuguese-Brazilian descent. Aged 16, De Souza travelled to Barbados to visit two aunts. Instead, he settled there and later went to work as a clerk at the J. H. Fitt & Co.[3]
In 1877, he travelled to London to study law,[3] where he clerked for West Indian-born Judah Benjamin[4] before becoming a member of Lincoln's Inn.[1] In 1880, he was awarded a scholarship by the Inn in equity jurisprudence worth 50 guinea.[2][5]
Legal career
[edit]De Souza was called to the Bar of England and Wales on 11 May 1881.[1] Assertive and principled, De Souza frequently challenged authority.
In 1886, De Souza travelled to Canada to practise, where he was told he would have to re-qualify.[4] For seven months, De Souza argued that lawyers should be recognised across the British Empire and fought for his recognition without the need to re-qualify, leading to the passage of the De Souza Act.[3][4]
De Souza and his wife settled soon afterwards in Demerara, British Guiana where he set up practise.
British Guiana, judicial challenges and death
[edit]Outspoken, de Souza criticised several judicial decisions, with some of his remarks being published in the local papers, and called to the Secretary of State for the Colonies to appoint a Commission of Inquiry.[3] For his impertinence, he was fine $500 and imprisoned in July 1898 for contempt of court for six months.[6]
De Souza applied for special leave to appeal his imprisonment in the Privy Council as the cases that he criticised were either not cases in which he appeared or cases that were decided and so there should have been no basis for a contempt of court charge. The Privy Council granted leave and De Souza was released in December 1898.[7] However, he would not live to argue his case before the Court.[3] Having contracted tuberculosis in jail, De Souza returned to Barbados to recover. He died on 9 March 1889.[8] He was only 30.[4]
De Souza's death was reported in newspapers in the Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, Dominica, St Croix and Trinidad[4] and sparked outraged the West Indies. His case was also the subject of a number of Parliamentary Questions in the UK House of Commons.[9][10] His case raised ire over the misuse of judicial power and limitations on freedom of speech and freedom of the press because it suggested that no one could criticise a judicial decision even after a decision was handed down.[11] His efforts would inspired reforms in judicial accountability and the passage of Contempt of Court Acts across the West Indies.[3][12]
Personal life
[edit]In 1886, De Souza married Mary Peterson.[13][14] His wife died in October 1888 while De Souza was imprisoned for contempt.[6] To add insult to injury, when De Souza applied to the Court for leave to attend his wife's funeral, he was denied.[6] The funeral procession, however, passed the jail.[3] On being released, de Souza visited his wife's grave before returning home.
Publications
[edit]Pamphlets
[edit]- A Letter on the Administration of Justice in British Guiana, Addressed to the Secretary of State (1887)[15]
- Physician Heal Thyself (1888)[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Foster, Joseph (1885). Men-at-the-bar : a biographical hand-list of the members of the various Inns of Court, including Her Majesty's judges, etc. London, England: Hazell, Watson, and Viney.
- ^ a b "English News: (From the "European Mail" Sep. 17)". Barbados Agricultural Reporter. 1 October 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mr. Louis De Souza". Nassau Guardian. 27 July 1892. p. 1. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e ""Death of Mr. L. De Souza". Nassau Guardian. 17 April 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ "European Mail". Barbados Agricultural Reporter. 30 April 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "Currente Calamo". Pump Court. 8 (110): 49. 21 November 1988.
- ^ "Currente Calamo". Pump Court. 8 (115): 2. 29 December 1888.
- ^ "Barbados, 10th". St Croix Axis. 13 March 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ Hansard (16 November 1888). "British Guiana—Alleged Ill-Treatment of Mr. De Souza". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ^ "Mr De Souza's Case Before the House of Commons". Port of Spain Gazette. Trinidad. 15 December 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ "The De Souza Case". Dominica Dial. 15 September 1888. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ Hoyos, F. A. (6 September 1952). "Our Common Heritage: Valence Gale". The Barbados Advocate. p. 4. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ "Marriage registration: Louis J De S Leal-Aranha and Mary Peterson". www.familysearch.org. England and Wales, Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005. 1886. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ "Births, Deaths, Marriages and Obituaries". Gloucester Citizen. Vol. 11, no. 222. Gloucester, England. 18 September 1886. p. 3.
- ^ Shahabuddeen, M. (1973). The Legal System of Guyana. Guyana Press. p. 496.
- ^ Cundall, Frank (1909). Bibliography of the West Indies (excluding Jamaica). Institute of Jamaica. p. 80.
See also
[edit]- Political and social awakenings in Nineteenth-century British Guiana
- Louis de Souza v The Queen (British Guiana), Privy Council, 1 December 1888