Procedures
Eastern Caribbean Civil Procedure Rules 2000
Civil claims follow the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules 2000, the shared code used across all nine ECSC member states. A claim begins with a claim form and statement of claim, and the defendant must acknowledge service within 14 days and file a defence within 28 days of service. The rules impose active case management, with the court fixing a case management conference and controlling directions rather than leaving pace to the parties.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — ECSC High Court sitting in Roseau; Court of Appeal is itinerant
- Deadline — Acknowledgment of service: 14 days from service of the claim form
- Deadline — Defence: 28 days from service of the claim form
- Deadline — Appeal to the Court of Appeal: 42 days from a final judgment, 21 days if interlocutory
- Deadline — Claim against a public authority: within one year of the act complained of
Governing law
- Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules 2000, Parts 8 to 27
- West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Act
- Public Authorities Protection Act
- Limitation Act
In practice
The single most common trap for practitioners from outside the region is the Public Authorities Protection Act, which cuts the limitation period against a public body to one year, far shorter than the general limitation period for contract or tort. The ECSC Court of Appeal is itinerant and sits in each member state for a set period, so the practical wait for an appeal hearing depends on the sitting calendar rather than on the registry alone.