Procedures
2007 Civil Procedure Rules with a separate customary land track
The Solomon Islands Courts (Civil Procedure) Rules 2007 govern the High Court, above Magistrates Courts and Local Courts, with the Court of Appeal at the top of the hierarchy.
Key rules
- Deadline — Most contract and tort claims are barred after six years
- Deadline — Customary land appeals go to the Customary Land Appeal Court, not the ordinary civil route
Governing law
- Solomon Islands Courts (Civil Procedure) Rules 2007, r. 1.3
- Magistrates' Courts Act 1978
- Local Courts Act 1978
- Limitation Act 1984
In practice
The 2007 Rules were a modernisation, adopting an overriding objective of just, efficient and cheap resolution in place of the older English-style rules, and they encourage active case management. The structural point to grasp is the parallel track: a dispute about who owns customary land does not begin in the High Court but with the chiefs, then the Local Court, then the Customary Land Appeal Court, and the High Court's role is confined largely to points of law and jurisdiction. Filing a customary ownership claim directly in the High Court is a common and fatal error.