Procedures
ECSC Civil Procedure Rules 2000 with a Privy Council apex
Civil claims follow the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules 2000, with a claim form and statement of claim, 14 days to acknowledge service and 28 days to file a defence. Appeals go to the itinerant ECSC Court of Appeal and then, uniquely among its CCJ-adopting neighbours, onward to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Public Authorities Protection Act again cuts the period for claims against the state.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — ECSC High Court in St George's; Court of Appeal itinerant; Privy Council final
- Deadline — Acknowledgment of service: 14 days from service
- Deadline — Defence: 28 days from service of the claim form
- Deadline — Appeal to the Court of Appeal: 42 days final, 21 days interlocutory
- Deadline — Claim against a public authority: within one year of the act
Governing law
- Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules 2000
- Limitation of Actions Act
- Public Authorities Protection Act
- West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Act
In practice
A Privy Council appeal is expensive and requires either leave as of right for matters above the constitutional value threshold or special leave, so the realistic apex for most commercial disputes is the ECSC Court of Appeal. Grenada has adopted a mediation practice direction, and the court will often require the parties to attempt mediation before trial, which shortens the effective route to resolution.