Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

• Not to be confused with the Caribbean Court of Justice.

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a higher court for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British Overseas Territories (Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat). It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.

History

The ECSC was set up in 1967 by the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Order No. 223 of 1967. In Grenada, the Court is called "the Supreme Court of Grenada and the West Indies Associated States". See section 105 of the Grenada Constitution.

Functions

The functions of the ECSC are as follows:

• To interpret and apply the laws of the various member states of the OECS;
• To decide cases of both civil and criminal matters;
• To hear appeals.

Composition

Name	State	Position	Elected
Brian George Keith Alleyne	Dominica	Chief Justice	2003
Denys Arthur Barrow	Belize	Justice of Appeal	2005
Hugh Anthony Rawlins	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Justice of Appeal	2005
Ola Mae Edwards	Jamaica	Justice of Appeal	2007
Esbon Anthony Ross	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Managing Judge	2006
Janice Mesadis George-Creque	British Virgin Islands	High Court Judge	2003
David Courtenay Harris	Dominica	High Court Judge	2007
Indra Hariprashad-Charles	British Virgin Islands	High Court Judge	2000
Rita Joseph-Olivetti	British Virgin Islands	High Court Judge	2001
Janice Mesadis George-Creque	British Virgin Islands	High Court Judge	2003
Davidson Baptiste	Dominica	High Court Judge	2001
Claire Henry	Grenada	High Court Judge	2001
Francis Mortimer Cumberbatch	Grenada	High Court Judge	2007
Janice Mesadis George-Creque	Montserrat	High Court Judge	2003
Francis Belle	Saint Kitts and Nevis	High Court Judge	2003
Ianthea Leigertwood-Octave	Saint Kitts and Nevis	High Court Judge	2005
Kenneth Andrew Charles Benjamin	Saint Lucia	High Court Judge	1993
Sandra Prunella Mason	Saint Lucia	High Court Judge	2005
Brian Cottle	Saint Lucia	High Court Judge	2007
Frederick Victor Bruce-Lyle	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	High Court Judge	2000
Gertel Thom	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	High Court Judge	2005
Cheryl Mathurin	United Kingdom	High Court Judge	2013
Pearletta Lanns	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Master	2007

Location

The Headquarters of the ECSC is in the Heraldine Rock Building, Waterfront, Castries, Saint Lucia. The building houses the Justices of Appeal’s chambers, the Court of Appeal Registry, the Judicial Education Institute, Library, and the Administrative Services.

Also, there are Court Offices in the nine Member States, which house the chambers of the High Court Judges and the offices of the High Court Registry. Each High Court Registry is headed by a legally trained Registrar to give administrative and legal support for the working of the High Court.

Related pages

• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
• Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC)
• Caribbean Court of Justice

Other websites

• Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court website Archived 2011-07-01 at the Wayback Machine