The Honourable Mr. Justice Peter Rajkumar currently serves as a Judge of the Court of Appeal, having previously sat on the High Court Bench for seven years before his elevation.

Justice Rajkumar commenced his legal journey after earning his LLB (Hons) from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, followed by his Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School. He was called to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago in October 1986, marking the beginning of a distinguished legal career.

Following his call to the Bar, Justice Rajkumar was appointed State Counsel in the Solicitor General’s Department at the Office of the Attorney General, where he served for three years. His portfolio involved extensive advisory work and a litigation focus on public law, including judicial review and constitutional motions, alongside construction arbitrations and land law litigation.

He later transitioned to private practice, beginning as an Associate Attorney at the law firm of Hobsons, where he concentrated on civil, land, and family law litigation. In 1994, he joined M. Hamel Smith & Company, becoming a Senior Associate and subsequently a Partner in the Litigation Department. In these roles, he was directly engaged in a broad range of complex matters, including:

• Insurance litigation
• Personal injury claims and litigation
• Professional negligence
• Admiralty law
• Pension litigation
• Construction law, including building and engineering arbitration
• Commercial contract dispute resolution
• Intellectual property litigation
• Trade law and anti-dumping disputes
• Telecommunications litigation and arbitration
• Judicial review
• Trademark and other intellectual property litigation
• Land disputes

Justice Rajkumar has pursued extensive professional development in Alternative Dispute Resolution, negotiation, and mediation, including training through the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. He has also authored several articles addressing various aspects of commercial law.

Taking leave from his partnership in the Disputes and Risk Management Department, he first joined the Judiciary in January 2008 as a temporary High Court Judge for six months, before being appointed a Judge of the High Court in February 2009. During his tenure, he delivered several landmark judgments, which are accessible on the Judiciary’s website.

In August 2016, Justice Rajkumar was appointed to the Court of Appeal, where he continues to contribute significantly to the development of judicial jurisprudence in Trinidad and Tobago.