News America, MINEOLA, Long Island, Thurs. Aug. 18, 2011: A Barbados-born New York court official has been named chief justice in his homeland.

Marston Gibson has been approved as the next chief justice of Barbados after being named to the post by the island’s Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart.

Gibson, 57, a Rhodes Scholar, currently serves as a court referee for the New York State Supreme Court in Mineola, on Long Island.

His responsibilities are that of a judge, deciding on disputes on civil court matters.

The longtime Hempstead, N.Y., resident told the Associated Press he will assume his new duties at the end of this month.

Critics of the appointment have said the laws of Barbados were manipulated to accommodate the overseas national.