Family
Matrimonial Causes Act with Family Court jurisdiction
Divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act on the ground of irretrievable breakdown established by separation or conduct. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines established a Family Court to handle maintenance, custody, domestic violence and juvenile matters in a single forum, which is unusual in the Eastern Caribbean. The Status of Children Act equalises children born outside marriage.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — High Court for divorce; Family Court for maintenance, custody and protection
- Deadline — Divorce: petition after the statutory separation period or on proof of conduct
- Deadline — Protection order: ex parte relief available in urgent cases from the Family Court
- Deadline — Maintenance arrears: enforceable by attachment of earnings or committal
Governing law
- Matrimonial Causes Act
- Family Court Act
- Status of Children Act
- Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act
In practice
The dedicated Family Court is a genuine procedural advantage, because maintenance, custody and protection applications are handled together by magistrates with family jurisdiction rather than dispersed across the ordinary Magistrate's Court list. Divorce itself remains in the High Court, so a separating couple will often have proceedings running in two forums at once.