The Bahamas · Overview
The legal system of The Bahamas
English common law across an archipelago of some 700 islands, with a Westminster parliament and final appeal to the Privy Council. The Bahamas is a CARICOM member but has stayed outside the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, so free movement of workers and the CCJ's original jurisdiction do not apply in the same way as elsewhere in the community. Financial services law is unusually developed for the population size, shaped by successive rounds of international tax-transparency and anti-money-laundering reform.
Legal tradition
The Bahamas belongs to the common law tradition. English common law across an archipelago of some 700 islands, with a Westminster parliament and final appeal to the Privy Council. The Bahamas is a CARICOM member but has stayed outside the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, so free movement of workers and the CCJ's original jurisdiction do not apply in the same way as elsewhere in the community. Financial services law is unusually developed for the population size, shaped by successive rounds of international tax-transparency and anti-money-laundering reform.
How power is divided
Unitary. Parliament legislates nationally; the Family Islands are administered through local government districts created by the Local Government Act 1996, with New Providence excluded from that scheme.
Where law comes from
- The Constitution
- Supreme law; entrenched provisions need a referendum to amend.
- Acts of Parliament
- House of Assembly and Senate.
- Received English common law and equity
- Declared in force by the Declaratory Act; developed locally.
- Judicial precedent
- Privy Council decisions bind all Bahamian courts.
The legal profession
A fused profession of counsel and attorneys admitted by the Supreme Court under the Legal Profession Act 1992, after a law degree and either the Legal Education Certificate or qualification in another common-law jurisdiction. The Bahamas Bar Association and its Bar Council regulate practice.
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