Cecil William Victor Carey

Cecil William Victor Carey (6 October 1887 – 29 October 1976) was an Irish barrister and colonial judge who served as acting Chief Justice of Singapore in 1946.

Early life and education Carey was born on 6 October 1887 at Dublin, the second son of William Carey, solicitor. He was educated at Trinity College, University of Dublin where he received his BA and LLB, and in 1910 was called to the Irish Bar by King's Inns, Dublin.

Career Carey began his career practising at the Irish Bar serving from 1910 to 1915. In 1915, he joined the Colonial Service and went to Africa where he served for 25 years in various posts. From 1915 to 1921, he served in Uganda, first as assistant district officer and later as magistrate. He then transferred to Nigeria as Crown Counsel, and in 1930, was appointed a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, remaining in office until 1940 while also serving on occasion as acting Solicitor General of Nigeria. In 1941, he passed a sentence of death on a woman, a rare event at the time, after she had been found guilty of murder, and in 1946, passed the first death sentence under the Mountbatten Proclamation. During the Japanese occupation he was interned in Malaya from 1942 to 1945. After the War, on the re-opening of the Supreme Court of Singapore, he was appointed acting Chief Justice, Singapore, serving from April to June 1946, and from 1946 to 1948, served as judge of the Supreme Court of the Malayan Union. He retired in 1948.

Personal life and death Carey married Lucy Stokes who died in 1922. They had two daughters. Later, he married Isabella Morrison who died in 1932.