JAMAICA JUDICIARY
Photo: Supreme Court of Jamaica building
The legal system of Jamaica is based on British common-law. The administration of justice is carried out through a network of courts. The courts of Jamaica are:
The structure of the Jamaican Judicial System is based on five basic tiers.
The lowest tier is the Petty Sessions Court. This court is presided over by Justices of the Peace. The Petty Sessions Court requires a minimum of two justices to be properly constituted. Sometimes Parish Court Judges exercise jurisdiction in these courts and the presiding Parish Court Judge exercises the jurisdiction of two Justices of the Peace.
Appeals from this court are to the Circuit Court of the parish in which the Petty Sessions Court sits or by way of case stated to the Court of Appeal.
The second tier of court is the Parish Court. This court is an inferior court of record and, as is the case with the Justices of the Peace jurisdiction, is governed entirely by statute. Parish Court Judges have the jurisdiction to try cases summarily as well as on indictment. The level of sanction, in terms of fines and imprisonment, are lower than that which may be imposed in the Supreme Court.
Parish Court Judges preside over a range of courts at this level. Apart from exercising jurisdiction in criminal cases, Parish Court Judges preside over the Coroner’s Court, Traffic Court, Drug Court, Tax Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court and Civil Court. The jurisdiction of the Civil Court is limited to claims not exceeding $250,000.00.
Appeals from the Parish Court are also to the Court of Appeal.
At the third tier, the Supreme Court is the highest first instance court. It is a superior court of record and has unlimited jurisdiction. It has both inherent and statutory jurisdiction. Courts of equivalent jurisdiction in other countries are sometimes called “High Courts”.
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction in Civil, Criminal, Family, Commercial, Succession and Admiralty cases. There are also specialised courts which also exercise superior jurisdiction which are presided over by Supreme Court Judges. These are the High and Circuit Court Divisions of the Gun Court and the Revenue Court.
Appeals from the Supreme Court are also made to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal is the fourth tier of the court structure. The Court of Appeal is the court to which all appeals are first referred. Its procedure is governed by statute. It may confirm, overturn or vary judgments in any cases in which there are appeals from any of the first-instance courts.
In the majority of cases the decisions of the Court of Appeal may be subject to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (The Privy Council). Technically, the appeal is to the Head of State which is the Sovereign. The Privy Council hears the appeal and makes a recommendation to the Sovereign as to the manner in which the appeal is to be resolved. It may recommend confirmation, overturn or variation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
The Privy Council is the fifth and highest tier of the Jamaican Court System. Appeals to the Privy Council are restricted to cases of a certain monetary value or where they are of exceptional public importance.
The Court of Appeal was established by the Constitution of Jamaica when the country gained its political independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. The court’s structure and jurisdiction were, however, crafted by a law that was passed on 30 July 1962 and brought into effect on 5th August that year, one day before Independence Day. The legislation regulating the court’s authority and jurisdiction is now called the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, which will be referred to below as ‘the Act’.
The court succeeded a previous Court of Appeal. The previous court was, however, a part of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica. The former Court of Appeal was brought into effect by the Judicature (Court of Appeal) Law which was passed in 1935 and remained in effect, with amendments, until its repeal by the Act. Immediately before the change in 1962, an appellate tribunal was constituted by three judges of the Supreme Court sitting as a panel.
The present court has no inherent jurisdiction. It derives its authority from the Constitution of Jamaica and from its enabling legislation, which also gives it all the powers that the previous court enjoyed. It hears appeals from all divisions of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica as well as all Parish Courts. There is also provision for appeals directly to the court from the decisions of certain bodies, such as Courts Martials and regulatory bodies such as the General Legal Council and the Public Accountancy Board.
The court also has the benefit of the Court of Appeal Rules, for directing its procedure. The original set of appeal rules, which was created in 1962, was replaced in 2002; at the same time that the Civil Procedure Rules were promulgated.
Despite the statement, that the court has no inherent jurisdiction, it does have the jurisdiction to control its own processes. It may therefore make orders and give directions, which may not strictly be defined by the Act or the Court of Appeal Rules. That point was made in the court’s judgment in Paul Chen-Young and others v Eagle Merchant Bank Jamaica Limited [2018] JMCA App 7 (paras. [37]-[41]).
Judges
In 1962, and remains so today, the qualification to be a judge of the court is 10 years’ standing at the Bar of Jamaica, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, or to have been a judge of a court of unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth, or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court.
The court, when it was established in 1962, comprised a President and three judges of appeal. In addition, the Chief Justice was, and continues to be qualified, by virtue of being the head of the judiciary, to sit as a member of the court. That may only occur, however, if the Chief Justice is invited, by the President, to so sit, and if at least four other judges of appeal are also sitting as part of the court. That has, so far, only happened on ceremonial occasions.
In 1967, the number of judges comprising the court, not including the President, was increased to six. That complement of seven remained unchanged for over 50 years. In 2008, legislation was passed to increase, to 12, the maximum number of judges of appeal, not including the President. Due to constraints of accommodation, however, the complement of seven was not increased until January 2019, when it was increased to 10, and the full complement of 13 was fulfilled for the first time on Monday, 18 January 2021.
A panel at the Court of Appeal usually consists of three judges. In exceptional cases, more judges of appeal, typically five, may sit to hear a case. Two divisions of the court usually sit to hear cases.
The main statutes which speak to the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal are:
The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear appeals from:
The Court of Appeal also determines:
The Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act provides that the Judges of the Court of Appeal shall be:
a. A President;
b. The Chief Justice by virtue of his office as head of the Judiciary but who, however, shall not sit in the Court unless there are at least four other Judges sitting and unless he has been invited so to sit by the President of the Court;
c. Not less than three nor more than twelve other Judges.
Currently the Court is comprised of a President and twelve (12) Judges of Appeal, and sits in divisions of three (3) Judges.
The President of the Court is responsible for the arrangement of the work of the Court and presides whenever he is sitting in the Court. In arranging the work of the Court he is assisted by a Registrar.
A Judge of Appeal must be an attorney-at-law who is a member of the Bar of Jamaica, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. He or she is required to be someone who is of at least ten (10) years standing or who or has held office as a Judge of a court of unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction in the commonwealth or a court with jurisdiction to hear appeals from any such court.
Judges of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. However, the President of the Court is appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.
The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is both geographical and legal.
Geographical Jurisdiction
In its Geographical jurisdiction the Supreme Court can hear and determine matters arising within the territory of Jamaica. In some instances where a statute vests extra-territorial jurisdiction on the Court, it may hear and determine matters the subject matter of which arise outside of Jamaica’s territory.
Legal Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court was created in 1880 at which time the original jurisdiction of a number of then existing courts were consolidated into the Supreme Court.
These Courts were:
The Supreme Court of Judicature,
The High Court of Chancery,
The Incumbered Estates Court,
The Court of Ordinary,
The Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes,
The Chief Court of Bankruptcy, and
The Circuit Courts
In 1962, section 13 of the Jamaican (Constitution) Order in Council adopted the existing Supreme Court as the Supreme Court for the newly independent Jamaica. The Supreme Court was then constitutionally established under section 97 of the Constitution of Jamaica.
The Supreme Court is regulated by the Judicature (Supreme Court) Act. It has unlimited original jurisdiction in criminal, civil and constitutional cases. It also exercises an appellate and supervisory jurisdiction. This includes hearing appeals from decisions of the Registrar of the Supreme Court and from the petty sessional courts as well as reviewing the conduct of Coroners’ Inquests and decisions of administrative bodies such as the Industrial Disputes Tribunal.
The work of the Court is conducted in a number of different divisions, based on the nature and subject matter of cases to be heard. These divisions are Criminal (Circuit Court); Civil; Commercial; and Review/Constitutional. Specialised Superior Courts in which Supreme Court Judges sit have also been created to complement the work of the Supreme Court. These are the Revenue Court established under the Revenue Court Act in 1971 and the Gun Court (High Court and Circuit Court Divisions) established under the Gun Court Act in 1974. The Gun Court Act was amended in 1999 to include the Western Regional Gun Court, with geographical jurisdiction for the parishes of St. James, Hanover, Trelawny and Westmoreland.
The Circuit Courts outside of Kingston are convened in each parish usually at specific times in the year with other sittings scheduled as necessary. However the Circuit Courts in Kingston (known as the Home Circuit Courts), and the High Court Division of the Gun Courts which sit in Kingston and the Western Regional Gun Court, sit continuously except for certain periods of vacation.
The Parish Courts form an integral part of the judicial system in Jamaica, and their work is geared towards protecting the constitutional right of every Jamaican to equal and due process under the law. The Courts form the backbone of the Jamaican Justice System and is the first and only point of contact for many persons. This court contributes significantly to the administration of justice in Jamaica in the adjudication of a vast number of civil and criminal matters each day.
The Courts operate in accordance with the rule of law which is vital to any progressive and democratic society.
Below are a selection of free online websites which can be used to access decisions of the Jamaica Judiciary.
Persons may also search for decisions using the Commonwealth Legal Information Institute:
The Faculty of Law Library offers access to the Jamaica Judiciary decisions from various databases:
The Faculty of Law Library houses unreported judgments for all Commonwealth Caribbean jurisdiction dating back from early 1950s. To access these printed unreported judgments, persons are invited to visit the Library during opening hours to make a request.
The Library also has a collection of reported judgments, which are held in official law reports and elsewhere.
Below are links pertaining to the Courts of Jamaica:
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Please note that the contents of this guide are provided strictly for individual, non-commercial, academic/educational, reference and/or research use and do not constitute legal advice. This guide does not substitute an individual's right to do their own research. Persons seeking legal advice should consult a practising attorney-at-law in their jurisdiction.
The information of this guide was compiled using open sources such as official websites and other resources.
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