Nicholas Colin Browne-Marke
Nicholas Colin Browne-Marke is a British-born judge of Sierra Leone Creole parentage. He is currently a Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia.
Early life and education
Browne-Marke was born in England, United Kingdom. He studied law at the Inns of Court School of Law, graduating in 1979, and was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1981.Early career
Browne-Marke worked as a state counsel in Sierra Leone's Director of Public Prosecutions Office from 1982 to 1989, before entering private practice.Courts of Appeal
In 2007, he began lecturing at Sierra Leone Law School, in Freetown, and was also appointed as a Senior Justice on the Court of Appeal of Sierra Leone.In 2009, Browne-Marke oversaw proceedings in a landmark cocaine trial. 600 kg of cocaine had been brought into the country on 28 July 2008 from Venezuela by a Cessna aircraft painted with a fake Red Cross logo. On 21 April 2009, of the 15 accused in the trial, he handed out custodian sentences and fines to all. For the Sierra Leoneans, the fines ranged from 25 million Leones to 300 million Leones. The sentences ranged from two years to five. For the accused foreigners, the fines ranged from $1.5 million to $4 million, with prison sentences of five years. Browne-Marke ordered that the cocaine be destroyed within 48 hours of the verdict, which took place on 23 April and was witnessed by international observers.