Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Established	27 February 1967 (1967-02-27)
Jurisdiction	List of countries  Antigua and Barbuda  Dominica  Grenada  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Anguilla  British Virgin Islands  Montserrat
Location	Castries, Saint Lucia (Headquarters)
Motto	Fiat Justitia
Composition method	Appointed by the Monarch (Chief Justice) and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (Other Judges)
Authorized by	Supreme Court Order
Appeals to	Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Caribbean Court of Justice
Appeals from	Magistrates Courts
Language	English
Website	www.eccourts.org
Chief Justice
Currently	Janice Pereira
Since	24 October 2012 (2012-10-24)

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS),^[1] 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 (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat). It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.

History[]

The ECSC was established in 1967 by the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Order No. 223 of 1967. In relation to Grenada, the Court is styled "the Supreme Court of Grenada and the West Indies Associated States". See section 105 of the Grenada Constitution.

Functions[]

The functions of the ECSC are as follows:

• To interpret and apply the laws of the various member states of the OECS;
• To decide cases of both civil and criminal matters;
• To hear appeals.

Appeals from the ECSC[]

Appeals from the ECSC can be lodged in defined cases to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom (in cases from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat) or the Caribbean Court of Justice in Trinidad and Tobago (for cases from Dominica).

Composition[]

Judges[]

To be a judge or master of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, a person must have served as a judge in a Commonwealth jurisdiction or be qualified to act as a lawyer in a Commonwealth jurisdiction. An appointee does not need to be a national, judge, or lawyer of a country within the jurisdiction of the Court. The Chief Justice is appointed by the Queen by Letters Patent. Other judges are appointed on behalf of the Queen by the .^{[clarification needed]}

High Court Judges and Masters are assigned to reside in and hear cases from a specific member state. It is common for judges to be asked to work in countries other than their home state. Judges are only occasionally assigned to reside in Montserrat and Anguilla—because of the small population of these countries, judges from the other jurisdictions hear cases that arise from these two jurisdictions. The Court of Appeal is itinerant and travels to the various countries to hear appeals.

Judges have life tenure but Justices of Appeal must retire when they are 65 and High Court Judges must retire when they are 62. Extensions of up to three years may be granted by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission only if all of the states agree to such an extension.

Current composition[]

Name	Assigned state	Home state	Position	Appointed to current position
Janice Pereira	Court of Appeal: All states	British Virgin Islands	Chief Justice	2012
	Court of Appeal: All states	Dominica	Justice of Appeal	2009
Louise Blenman	Court of Appeal: All states	Guyana	Justice of Appeal	2012
Mario Michel	Court of Appeal: All states	Saint Lucia	Justice of Appeal	2012
	Court of Appeal: All states	Guyana	Justice of Appeal	2014
	Court of Appeal: All states	Jamaica	Justice of Appeal [Ag.]	2015
	Court of Appeal: All states	British Virgin Islands	Justice of Appeal [Ag.]	2020

High Court Judges[]

 Anguilla

• Shawn Innocent

 Antigua and Barbuda

• Ann-Marie Smith
• Marissa Robertson
• Colin Williams
• Jan Drysdale

 Dominica

• Birnie Stephenson
• Wynante Adrien-Roberts

 Grenada

• Paula Gilford
• Victoria Charles-Clarke
• Raulston Glasgow
• Agnes Actie

 Montserrat

• Iain Charles Morley, QC

 Saint Kitts and Nevis

• Trevor McDonald Ward, QC
• Iain Charles Morley, QC
• Ermin Moise (Nevis Circuit)

 Saint Lucia

• Margaret Price-Findlay
• Cadie St. Rose- Albertini
• Vivian Georgis Taylor-Alexander
• Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence
• Rohan Phillip
• Patrick Thompson Jr.

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Brian Cottle
• Petra Byer
• Esco Henry
• Angelica Teelucksingh

 British Virgin Islands

• Vicki-Ann Ellis
• Richard Floyd
• Gerhard Wallbank [Ag.]
• Adrian Jack [Ag.]

Chief Justices[]

Name	Home state	Dates
Allen Montgomery Lewis	Saint Lucia	1967–1972
(acting)	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1972–1975
	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1975–1980
	Grenada	1981–1983
(acting)	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1983–1984
Lascelles Robotham	Jamaica	1984–1991
Vincent Floissac	Saint Lucia	1991–1996
Charles Michael Dennis Byron	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1996–2004 (acting 1996–1999)
Adrian Saunders (acting)	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2004–2005
Brian George Keith Alleyne (acting)	Dominica	2005–2008
Hugh Anthony Rawlins	Saint Kitts and Nevis	2008–2012
Janice Pereira	British Virgin Islands	2012–present

Location[]

The Headquarters of the ECSC is in Castries, Saint Lucia, where it is located on the second floor of the Heraldine Rock Building, Block B, on the Waterfront. The building houses the Justices of Appeal's chambers, the Court of Appeal Registry, the Judicial Education Institute, Library, and the Administrative Services.

In addition, there are Court Offices in the nine Member States, which house the chambers of the High Court Judges and the offices of the High Court Registry. Each High Court Registry is headed by a legally trained Registrar who provides the necessary administrative and legal support for the functioning of the High Court.

See also[]

• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
• Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC)
• Caribbean Court of Justice

References[]

External links[]

• Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court website