Godfrey Smith SC served as a High Court judge and acting Justice of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (2017-2020) where he quickly developed a reputation for delivering sound, high quality judgments at a rapid rate.

Anthony Astaphan S.C. of the Antigua, Dominica and St. Kitts Bars said he “added great competence to the bench”.

Peter Foster QC of the Saint Lucia Bar said Justice Smith “is of very high intellect; seems to possess limitless energy in dealing with matters and writing well-reasoned judgments in the shortest time.” He is “the example of what a judge ought to be and may well be that standard”.

Lawyers in the O.E.C.S. are “impressed by how quickly he grasps the issues, his thorough analysis of the arguments presented and his timely dispatch of sound decisions.” He “starts matters at 9 am and continues well into the night demonstrating full concentration and recalling accurately the evidence”.

Litigants have said that he “displays significant patience, understanding and tolerance”, is “even tempered and extremely good humoured”.

A judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice has said of him “It is his habit and discipline to rigorously question, inquire and examine thoughts as the true path to forming judgment”. “His usual quickness is no synonym for undue haste. He has the competence and confidence to be decisive. And he is”.

Ben Cooper QC of the British Bar said “it was a great experience to have appeared in his court”; he delivered “a brilliant judgment”.

As Attorney General of Belize (1999-2004), he authored and led implementation of “Delivering Justice”, a strategic plan promoting judicial independence; improved conditions of service for judges; digitization of vital statistics; continuing education for magistrates; a draft Legal Aid Bill; citizens advice bureaus; new civil procedure rules to facilitate access to justice; digitization of the laws of Belize; led significant constitutional reform; introduced modern intellectual property laws; and annual conference of judges, magistrates, and lawyers called the Bench and Bar Colloquium.

In private practice, Godfrey Smith specialized in commercial and public law litigation. He has appeared before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the Court of Arbitration for Sports. He was one of the leading lawyers in Belize, regularly instructed on complex, controversial and high profile cases.

Clients describe him as “highly analytical and a great advocate who keeps the facts at his fingertips”. He is considered to be “excellent on paper, gives clear, lightning-fast legal advice and is adept at resolving knotty and complex matters.”

Apart from his judicial and legal career, Godfrey is an award-winning writer; Chairman of Commonwealth Writers’ Conversation (Dhaka 2012); Chairman of the Commonwealth Book Prize (2013); Judge of the Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize (2014) and Founding Editor of the Belize Law Review and the Belize Law Reports.