Procedures
Civil Proceedings Rules 1998 with mandatory pre-action conduct
The Civil Proceedings Rules 1998, substantially amended since, govern High Court litigation and impose an overriding objective together with active case management. Judicial review is separately regulated by the Judicial Review Act 2000, which requires prompt application. Appeals lie to the Court of Appeal and then, with leave, to the Privy Council.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Magistrates' Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, then the Privy Council
- Deadline — Appearance: 14 days from service of the claim form
- Deadline — Defence: 28 days from service
- Deadline — Judicial review: promptly, and in any event within three months
- Deadline — Contract and tort limitation: four years
Governing law
- Civil Proceedings Rules 1998
- Judicial Review Act 2000
- Limitation of Certain Actions Act 1997
- Arbitration Act, Chap. 5:01
In practice
The four-year general limitation period is shorter than the six years common elsewhere in the Commonwealth Caribbean, and practitioners moving between jurisdictions misdiagnose it regularly. Judicial review also carries its own three-month outer limit with an express promptness requirement, so a claim filed at week eleven can still be refused as too late.