The nomination was presented to Member States at COP 31 in Antalya, as the Commission marks five years of advancing international law on climate change.
ANTALYA, Türkiye: Prime Minister the Hon. Philip E. Davis, K.C., M.P., has nominated the Honourable Justice Cheryl E. Bazard for the post of Secretary-General of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS). The Prime Minister presented the nomination today at the annual meeting of COSIS Member States, held at COP 31.
The Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu founded COSIS on the eve of COP 26 in 2021. The Commission brings small island states together to advance international law on climate change. In May 2024, at its request, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea found that greenhouse gas emissions are pollution of the marine environment.
The Bahamas, a member of COSIS, made written and oral submissions in the climate change proceedings at the International Court of Justice. In July 2025 the Court confirmed, unanimously, that states have binding obligations to protect the climate system.
“Five years ago, small island states made a choice. We would no longer wait for the goodwill of others. We would use the law,” said Prime Minister Davis. “The law has answered. The next chapter will be harder. It calls for a Secretary-General who has spent a career making institutions answer to the law. Justice Bazard will serve every member of the Commission with fairness and resolve.”
Justice Bazard was appointed to the Supreme Court of The Bahamas in 2025. From 2022 to 2025 she served as Ambassador of The Bahamas to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union. As Chair of the Small Island Developing States Forum of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, she addressed the International Court of Justice in its climate change proceedings in December 2024. She also represented The Bahamas in Hamburg when the Tribunal delivered its advisory opinion.
Called to the Bar in 1991, Justice Bazard holds the rank of King’s Counsel. She served as a Senator from 2012 to 2014 and as Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General. From 1998 to 2006 she was Regional Director of Compliance, Corporate Secretary and Counsel at FirstCaribbean International Bank. There she wrote anti-money laundering and governance policies for sixteen Caribbean countries. She was founding President of the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Buckingham, where she won the Tunku Abdul Rahman Prize for a first-class pass in International Law. She earned a Master of Laws in Financial Compliance and Risk Management, summa cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Her studies began at the College of The Bahamas, now the University of The Bahamas.
The Office of the Prime Minister will provide further updates on the Prime Minister’s engagements at COP 31.