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🇧🇸 The Bahamas · first-instance court

Magistrates' Courts

Reviewed· 2026-08-03Nassau

The courts where the overwhelming majority of cases begin and end. Courts sit in Nassau, Freeport and on several Family Islands, which matters in an archipelago where travel to a court can require a flight. Magistrates also conduct preliminary enquiries to decide whether an indictable charge should be sent to the superior court for trial.

How the court is constituted

Tier
first instance
Court type
Court of summary jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Summary criminal offences, preliminary enquiries into indictable charges, small civil claims, and family and maintenance matters.
Seat
Nassau
Composition
Magistrates sitting alone, without a jury.
Languages
English

Where an appeal goes next

Appeal to the Court of Appeal.

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