JUDICIARY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Photo: Hall of Justice, Trinidad and Tobago
The Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, headed by the Chief Justice, comprises the Supreme Court of Judicature and the Magistracy. The Judiciary is the third arm of the State. As in most democratic countries, the Judiciary is established by the Constitution to operate independently from the Executive as a forum for the timely resolution of legal disputes between individuals and bodies including the state.
The Supreme Court of Judicature is made up of The Court of Appeal and the High Court, as is provided under section 99 of the Constitution which states: “There shall be a Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago consisting of a High Court and a Court of Appeal with such jurisdiction and powers as conferred on these Courts respectively by this Constitution or any other law.”
The Magistracy under a Chief Magistrate comprises the Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction and the Petty Civil Courts. These Courts are established respectively under the Summary Courts Act. Ch. 4:20, and the Petty Civil Courts Act. Ch. 4:21 of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Chief Justice bears overall responsibility for furthering the mission and vision of the Judiciary, and is in charge of the general administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago. The Chief Magistrate reports to the Chief Justice.
Masters of the High Court have similar jurisdiction to Judges of the High Court sitting in Chambers, except for matters where statute expressly limits their jurisdiction (such as the exercise of powers to imprison or to grant interlocutory injunctions).
With increasing demands on the Judiciary over the years, especially in light of the impact of the Civil Proceedings Rules, Family Proceedings Rules, the introduction of the Children Court, and Criminal Procedure Rules 2016, the Judiciary has had to take steps to increase its judicial manpower to cope with the increased workload.
There are at present 60 Judges in the Supreme Court - 16 Judges in the Court of Appeal (inclusive of the Chief Justice) and 44 Judges at the High Court level. There are at present 20 Masters of the High Court.
The Supreme Court of Judicature is made up of The Court of Appeal and the High Court.
The Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction over both the Magistracy and the High Court, inclusive of the Magisterial and High Court Sections of the Family Court. At present, an appeal from the Court of Appeal in Trinidad and Tobago lies to the Privy Council as of right, or with the leave of that Court.
Section 6 (1) of the Act provides for the number of Judges in the Appeal Court in addition to the Chief Justice who shall be the President of that Court. Justices of Appeal take precedence over High Court Judges. Justices of Appeal and High Court Judges are ranked depending on their length of service on the Bench.
The High Court, with locations at the Hall of Justice and the Family Court in Port of Spain, San Fernando and Scarborough, Tobago, exercises original jurisdiction over indictable criminal matters, family matters, and in civil matters (inclusive of interlocutory applications and informal motions in Chamber Courts).
In pursuit of a vision of efficiency and timeliness in the administration of justice especially in light of a perennially increasing workload, the Judiciary has taken steps over the years to seek increases to its statutory judicial manpower. Along with the progressive increase of Judges from six to 23 between 1962 and 2003, six temporary Judges were appointed in January 2006 to deal with the increased court workload. These numbers soon proved to be quite inadequate due to the inexorable upsurge in the levels of crime in Trinidad and Tobago and the implementation of new Civil Proceedings Rules in September 2005, both of which increased demands on the Courts dramatically. As mentioned earlier, an expansion of the High Court Bench to 36 has been approved by Cabinet.
Family and Children Division
With the proclamation of the Family and Children Division Act, No. 6 of 2016, on February 28, 2018, the Family and Children Division (FCD) of the High Court was established to oversee family and children court matters. In so doing, the FCD facilitates problem-solving court systems to address the underlying factors that contribute to family conflict and offensive behaviour among children. The Division consists of the Family Court, the Children Court and the FCD Court Administration Department, which is headed by the Deputy Court Executive Administrator.
The FCD Court Administration Department
The FCD Court Administration Department is the administrative arm of the Division and provides strategic and operational support for the Family and Children Courts. This Department is responsible for planning, budgeting, financial planning and management, staff management and development, case flow management, and performance management. It also develops and implements the necessary policies, processes and systems to ensure that the Division operates effectively. Administrative units under this Department include: Social Services; Human Resource Management; Communications and Information; Records Management, Court and Law Reporting; Information Technology; Finance, Accounts and Investment; Statistical and Evaluation; and Court Systems Audit and Quality Compliance.
The Family Court
The Family Court focuses on resolving family conflict and in so doing, provides psycho-social support in family matters including divorce, legal custody, property issues, maintenance and access among others. This is done through psychological assessments, programme delivery, counselling and mediation services. Programmes offered by the Family Court target a range of issues including parenting and domestic violence.
The Children Court
The Children Court deals with children (under 18) who are charged with offences, children in need of supervision (CHINS) and child care and protection matters. The Children Court also hears children drug and mental health matters. In so doing, the Court uses rehabilitative interventions to encourage positive behaviour change and accountability on the part of child offenders. Such interventions include psychological assessments, counselling and in-house Court programmes such as Court-annexed Peer Resolution and the Children Drug Treatment Court Programme among others.
The Magistracy exercises original jurisdiction in relation to summary criminal matters. The Magistrates’ Courts also facilitate Preliminary Inquiries into serious criminal matters to determine whether a prima facie case has been established against an accused person before he or she can be indicted for trial at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. The Petty Civil Court Division of the Magistracy deals with civil matters involving small money claims of less than $15,000.00.
There are 13 magisterial districts in Trinidad and Tobago:
The Chief Magistrate is supported in these districts by a Deputy Chief Magistrate, 13 Senior Magistrates, and 42 Magistrates, six of them temporary. More than one Magistrate’s Court operates in some of these districts. A Clerk of the Peace is attached to each of the courts. The Courts are also administered by a complement of seven Area Court Managers.
Below are a selection of free online websites which can be used to access decisions of the Barbados Judicature.
Persons may also search for decisions using the Commonwealth Legal Information Institute:
The Faculty of Law Library offers access to the Barbados Judicature 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.
To recommend a resource, please click the below link and send us an email with your selected material.
To report a broken link, please click the below link and send us an email.
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.
Should you have questions about any of the highlighted resources, kindly contact us (see above tab).