Rights
1981 Constitution with Barbuda's distinct land regime
The Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981 created a parliamentary monarchy with a Governor-General, a bicameral Parliament and an independent judiciary, with fundamental rights in Chapter II enforceable in the High Court. A 2018 referendum to replace the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice was rejected, so the Privy Council remains the final court. Barbuda, though not a separate state, has a Barbuda Council and a distinctive communal land system that has generated significant constitutional litigation.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary state of two main islands; Barbuda has a Council but not separate statehood
- Deadline — Constitutional motion: no fixed limit, subject to abuse of process
- Deadline — Appeal to the Court of Appeal: 42 days for a final judgment
- Deadline — Election petition: 21 days from the declaration of the result
Governing law
- Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981 (ss. 1 to 18)
- Barbuda Local Government Act
- Barbuda Land Act 2007 and the 2018 amendments
- Supreme Court Order 1967Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
In practice
The Barbuda land question is the live constitutional issue: the Barbuda Land Act 2007 vested land in the people of Barbuda communally, and amendments permitting freehold sales were challenged as an unconstitutional deprivation of property. Advisers on any Barbuda project must check the current state of that litigation rather than assume the amended act governs, because the outcome determines whether a freehold title can be granted at all.