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The Judiciary of Barbados is an independent branch of the Barbadian government, subject only to the Barbadian Constitution. It is headed by the Chief Justice of Barbados. [1] Barbados is a common law jurisdiction, in which precedents from English law and British Commonwealth tradition may be taken into account. [2]
There are three levels of courts in Barbados, structured as follows:
The Constitution places the Caribbean Court of Justice at the pinnacle of the Barbadian judicial system. The Court has two types of jurisdictions: appellate jurisdiction and original jurisdiction. [3]
In its appellate jurisdiction, the court serves as the final court of appeal from any decision given by the Court of Appeal of Barbados in civil and criminal matters. In its original jurisdiction, the Caribbean Court of Justice is a court of first instance which applies rules of international law in respect to the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. In its original jurisdiction, it exercises both exclusive and compulsory jurisdiction in: 1. Disputes between contracting parties to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice; 2. Disputes between any contracting party to the agreement and the Caribbean Community; 3. Referrals from national courts or tribunals of contracting parties to the agreement 4. Applications by persons in accordance with the Caribbean Court of Justice Act concerning the interpretation and application of the treaty. [3]
The court also has exclusive jurisdiction: (i) to deliver advisory opinions concerning the application of the Treaty upon request of Contracting Parties or the Community; and (ii) where there is a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction in a matter, to decide whether the court has such jurisdiction.
The jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice is exercised in accordance with Rules of Court governing proceedings in the court's appellate and original jurisdictions. [3]
The magistrates' courts (lower court) have of summary jurisdiction dealing with civil, family, and criminal matters. But can also take up matters dealing with Coroner's Inquests, Liquor Licences, and civil marriages. The Magistrates' Courts also deal with Contract and Tort law where claims do not exceed $10,000.00. [4]
The magistrates' courts in Barbados include:
The High Court has a more expansive jurisdiction than the magistrates' courts – dealing with serious civil and criminal matters and together with the Court of Appeal, acting as a Court of Appeal for matters coming from the magistrate courts. The Court of Appeal may also hear appeals from the High Court. The High Court and the Court of Appeal make up the Supreme Court. It may sit as a single Justice of Appeal in chambers, or as full court of three Justices of Appeal.
All criminal cases (both summary and indictable) commence in the Magistrates' Court. Summary cases are heard in full by the Magistrates' Court. Indictable cases proceed to the High Court after a preliminary inquiry is conducted to determine that there is a prima facie case to answer. Once judgement is passed, a case may be appealed by either party and will then proceed to the Appeal Court. [5] The number and severity of criminal cases dealt with by each level of the courts varies, as does the level of detail that is recorded (specifically the reasons for adjournment). [4] [6]
Barbados is one of four Commonwealth Caribbean countries (along with Dominica, Guyana, and Belize), that recognises the Caribbean Court of Justice as their final court of appeal. In matters of human rights, Barbados is one of a handful of countries in the Americas, and the only one in the Anglophone Caribbean that fully accepts judgements by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. [7] In 2011 some pressure was placed on the government to withdraw [8] [9] from the Inter-American Court. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Like Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados applied for reserve powers [15] dealing with death penalty (for persons convicted of murder) as these laws were aspects statutory law inherited from the United Kingdom. [16] The government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago which was unsure of receiving such a waiver and formally withdrew its intent of ratification to the IACHR. [17] [18] [19] It appears unlikely that Barbados will be granted such a waiver per recent statements by the IACHR. [20]
Recent polls in Barbados have showed favourable support for the return of capital punishment to general usage for persons convicted of murder. This of course is only carried out after a lengthy process of appeals. [21] In sharp contrast to Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago also all within CARICOM instead utilizes the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.
In the 1990s the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (of the United Kingdom), ruled that Barbados' Constitution was clear with respect to the death penalty. [22] However, it ruled that to carry out such sentences it required that Barbados and other Caribbean Islands carry out trials at a quicker pace. [23] In response to this verdict, the Barbados government announced that the country would be leaving the jurisdiction of the Privy Council and would further consider becoming a republic. [24] Since then, calls have continued to be made by members of the local legal profession ridiculing the length of time which court cases in Barbados take to be fully adjudicated. [25] Other criticism has been that the court process was appearing to be breaking down. [26] [27] [28]
Since Barbados left the jurisdiction of the JCPC, similar sentiments have been expressed and re-iterated in 2010 by the Caribbean Court of Justice which Barbados replaced the JCPC with. [25]
In 2011 Owen Arthur, the Leader of the Opposition announced that the BLP would not support , the ruling party's goals to amend Barbadian law to allow for the appointment of Marston Gibson as the next Chief Justice of Barbados. Questions surround the fact that Mr. Gibson has not maintained the requisite 15 years of practice as an attorney-at-law in Barbados. The governing DLP maintains that it plans to proceed as planned by amending that stipulation from the Barbados Supreme Court Judicature Act. [29]
The Government of Barbados (GoB), is a unitary parliamentary republic, where the President of Barbados represents as the head of state and the Prime Minister of Barbados represents as the head of government.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for certain British territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few UK bodies. Established on 13 August 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King-in-Council, the Privy Council formerly acted as the court of last resort for the entire British Empire, and continues to act as the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth nations, the Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories.
The Caribbean Community is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organization was established in 1973 with its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Its primary activities involve:
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human rights treaty ratified by members of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Judiciary of Malaysia is largely centralised despite Malaysia's federal constitution, heavily influenced by the English common law, as well as Islamic jurisprudence.
The Caribbean Court of Justice is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British Overseas Territories. It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Trinidad and Tobago face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as that of opposite-sex couples.
Anand Ramlogan is a member of the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, England & Wales and the British Virgin Islands. He is the founder and head of Freedom Law Chambers which is based in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad. He served as junior counsel to the late Sir Fenton Ramsahoye QC in whose footsteps he followed to become the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago during the period 28 May 2010 – 2 February 2015. As Attorney General, he was also the titular head of the bar.
Dana Saroop Seetahal SC was an Independent Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Senate. She was an attorney at law in private practice and was formerly a lecturer at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago, where she held the position of Course Director in Criminal Practice and Procedure. She was assassinated in Port of Spain on May 4, 2014.
The judiciary of Jamaica is based on the judiciary of the United Kingdom. The courts are organized at four levels, with additional provision for appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The Court of Appeal is the highest appellate court. The Supreme Court has unlimited jurisdiction in all cases, and sits as the Circuit Court to try criminal cases. The Parish Court in each parish hears both criminal and civil cases, excluding grave offences. The Petty Sessions are held under Justices of the Peace, with power to hear minor crimes.
The Supreme Court of Judicature of Barbados is the highest judicial body in the country of Barbados. It is made up of the High Court and the Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court of Judicature of Belize is one of three types of courts in Belize, the lower ones being the Magistrate's Courts and the Court of Appeal. It is a court of original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases as well as an appellate court. It is governed by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (SCJA).
Freundel Jerome Stuart, OR, PC, KC is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson, who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
The Courts of Jersey are responsible for the administration of justice in the Bailiwick of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. They apply the law of the Island, which is a mixture of customary law and legislation passed by the legislature, the States Assembly.
The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago.
The judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago is a branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that interprets and applies the laws of Trinidad and Tobago, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution.
The judiciary of British Virgin Islands is based on the judiciary of the United Kingdom. The British Virgin Islands is a member state of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The courts are organized at four levels, including the provision for final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
Dame Sandra Prunella Mason is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 2021, the second woman to hold the office. On 20 October 2021, Mason was elected by the Parliament of Barbados to become the country's first president, and took office on 30 November 2021, when Barbados ceased to be a constitutional monarchy and became a republic.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)The instrument of ratification was received at the General Secretariat of the OAS on 5 November 1981, with reservations. Notification of the reservations submitted was given in conformity with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, signed on 23 May 1969. The twelve-month period from the notification of said reservations expired on 26 November 1982, without any objection being raised to the reservations.
1. The issue in these appeals is the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty in Barbados. The relevant provisions of the constitution are sections 1, 15(1) and 26. Section 1 says that the constitution shall be the supreme law of Barbados and that any other law shall "to the extent of the inconsistency, be void". Section 15(1) says that no person shall be subject to "an inhuman or degrading punishment". But section 26 says that no existing law "shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of any provision of sections 12 to 23". The law decreeing the mandatory death penalty was an existing law at the time when the constitution came into force and therefore, whether or not it is "an inhuman or degrading punishment", it cannot be held inconsistent with section 15(1). It follows that despite section 1, it remains valid.
An unusual panel of nine Privy Council judges was set up to reconsider the issue of whether the death penalty was mandatory or not - normally just five sit. Over a fortnight, in a windowless room in the House of Lords, they considered cases from three islands at once: from Jamaica, Barbados, and that of Charles Matthews from Trinidad and Tobago. [ . . . ] The Law Lords declared that the death penalty for murder was, after all, mandatory in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
A primary obstacle is the London-based Privy Council, the highest court of review for many former British colonies. It ruled that sentences must be commuted to life in prison if the condemned are not executed within five years -- a window some consider unreasonable because appeals are so slow.
A JUDGEMENT of the Caribbean Court of Justice delivered on August 16 touches on a matter which has arisen in the local justice system on more than one occasion in the recent past. It is the question of the length of time it takes before an accused person in Barbados is brought to trial before a jury of his peers. Only a month ago it was reported that a murder accused had filed an action alleging that he has been on remand in prison for four years and that his constitutional rights were thereby breached. Earlier this year, similar reports surfaced in other cases.
A DELINQUENT COURT SYSTEM. That’s how the Barbados Bar Association described the justice system in Barbados in a stinging letter sent to the Acting Chief Justice Sherman Moore earlier this week.
MEMBERS OF THE Bar Association have been criticised for leaking a letter to the NATION.
Also in all countries in the Caribbean there is a back log of cases. I will like to suggest that someone looks carefully at the back log of cases whether if it’s here in Barbados, in Trinidad, Jamaica, etc. We cannot deal with this back log by only human means. We have to do a sifting process and get the minor cases out of the system by some means other than the normal trial process,” he recommended.