Criminal
Criminal Code with jury trial in the High Court
The Criminal Code sets out offences against the person and property, supplemented by the Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act. Indictable trials take place in the High Court before a judge and jury; summary matters go before a magistrate. The Director of Public Prosecutions conducts prosecutions independently under the Constitution.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — High Court for indictable matters; Magistrate's Court for summary matters
- Deadline — First appearance: without undue delay after arrest
- Deadline — Summary offence: complaint generally within six months
- Deadline — Appeal against conviction: 21 days from sentence
Governing law
- Criminal Code
- Criminal Procedure Code
- Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Act
- Proceeds of Crime Act
In practice
Grenada retains capital punishment for murder in the Criminal Code, and because it has kept the Privy Council as its final court the line of authority beginning with Pratt v Attorney General applies directly, so prolonged delay on death row itself becomes inhuman punishment and commutation follows. The mandatory nature of the sentence has likewise been read down so that individual sentencing discretion must be exercised.