Island.

The Wor. John Judge will leave when his contract expires, Supreme Court Registrar Mr. Kenneth Brown confirmed yesterday.

His last working day would be December 1, Mr. Brown told The Royal Gazette .

It is understood Mr. Judge decided some time ago to return to Ireland, where he has a home.

Mr. Judge, 65, came to Bermuda in January of 1985 after four years as assistant director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland. Before that, he worked in Fiji, Malawi, and the New Hebrides.

In Bermuda, he sparked controversy during his years on the bench. Soon after he arrived, Mr. Judge made headlines when he ordered a 14-year-old boy to be birched for stealing a purse.

The whipping never took place. But Mr. Judge set the tone early for a colourful career as a Magistrate.

Most recently, his stated reasons for acquitting a Police officer of using offensive words surprised lawyers and many others.

Mr. Judge ruled that "kaffir'' -- a derogatory term for blacks used in South Africa -- was "not an English word in common use in England or Bermuda'' and the Crown had led no evidence as to its meaning, "so it cannot be offensive.'' In July of 1991, Mr. Judge suffered a broken wrist and a broken nose after he was beaten up outside the courthouse by a man who had appeared before him.

The Wor. John Judge.