Despite its name the Supreme Court is the trial court, not the final court — a naming convention shared with Jamaica and easily misread. Its Commercial Division handles the international financial services litigation that the jurisdiction attracts, including winding-up of investment funds.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- first instance
- Court type
- Superior court of unlimited jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction
- Unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, constitutional claims under Article 28, and a Commercial Division for substantial business and insolvency disputes.
- Seat
- Nassau
- Established
- 1799
- Composition
- The Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court; registrars handle interlocutory business.
- Appointment
- The Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition; other judges on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
- Languages
- English
Where an appeal goes next
Appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Filing at this court
- Constitutional claim
- Application under Article 28 of the Constitution
- Commercial claim
- Filed in the Commercial Division under the Supreme Court Civil Procedure Rules 2022
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