Rights
1973 Constitution restored in 1983, still appealing to the Privy Council
The Grenada Constitution Order 1973 governs, having been suspended during the 1979 revolution and restored after the 1983 intervention, which makes the continuity of the legal order an unusual feature of Grenadian constitutional law. Grenada is a parliamentary monarchy with a Governor-General and a bicameral Parliament. Referendums in 2016 and 2018 to replace the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice were both rejected, so the Privy Council remains the final court.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary state including Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Privy Council final
- 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 — Appeal to the Privy Council: leave sought within the period fixed by the Court of Appeal
Governing law
- Grenada Constitution Order 1973 (ss. 1 to 16)
- Constitution of Grenada (s. 104 (appeals to the Privy Council))
- Constitution (Amendment) referendum results 2016 and 2018
- Supreme Court Order 1967Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
In practice
The interruption of constitutional government between 1979 and 1983 left a body of authority on the validity of acts done under the People's Revolutionary Government, and the courts resolved it largely through doctrines of necessity and de facto validity rather than by treating the period as a legal void. Practically, Grenada's retention of the Privy Council means English and Privy Council authority carries more weight here than in neighbouring Dominica or Saint Lucia.