Why Grenada Still Appeals to the Privy Council, Not the CCJ

Grenada's highest court of appeal sits more than 6,000 kilometres away in London. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, made up mainly of justices of the UK Supreme Court, hears the final appeals from Grenada, as it has since colonial times. Meanwhile the Caribbean Court of Justice in Port of Spain, created by CARICOM partly to replace the Privy Council, already serves as final court for several neighbours.

Grenadians have been asked twice, in 2016 and 2018, whether to switch to the CCJ, and both times the answer was no. For investors and residents, the outcome shapes where the last word on a contract dispute, a land claim or a constitutional challenge is spoken. This explainer covers how the two courts relate to Grenada, what the referendums decided and why the debate continues.

Two courts, two jurisdictions

The Caribbean Court of Justice was inaugurated in 2005 and sits in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It has two distinct roles. In its original jurisdiction, it is the court that interprets and applies the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the founding treaty of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. In its appellate jurisdiction, it acts as the final court of appeal in civil and criminal cases for those states that have accepted it in place of the Privy Council.

Grenada participates in the original jurisdiction. Any question about CSME rights, such as whether a CARICOM national was wrongly refused entry or whether a trade measure breaches the treaty, can come before the CCJ, and its rulings bind Grenada in that sphere. What Grenada has not done is accept the appellate jurisdiction. Ordinary appeals in Grenadian cases therefore still go from the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal to the Privy Council. The states that have made the CCJ their final appellate court include Barbados, Guyana, Belize and Dominica, with Saint Lucia moving to join in recent years; check the current list, as it has been changing.

The 2016 and 2018 referendums

Grenada's constitution entrenches the provisions on the final court, so changing them requires approval in a referendum by a two-thirds majority of votes cast, on top of parliamentary approval. That is a high bar. In November 2016 the government put a package of seven constitutional reform bills to voters, one of which would have replaced the Privy Council with the CCJ. All seven failed, with turnout low and the reform package caught up in wider political disagreement.

In November 2018 voters were asked a single question on the CCJ. It was again rejected, with the No side winning a majority and the Yes side far short of the two-thirds required. Antigua and Barbuda held a similar referendum on the same day with the same result. Since then there has been no further vote in Grenada, though the question resurfaces regularly in public debate and in statements by regional leaders and lawyers. Any future change would again need a referendum.

Arguments that swayed voters

Trust in distance. Many voters saw a court far from local politics, staffed by judges with no ties to the region, as a safeguard. In small societies where people know each other, that perceived independence carried weight.

Doubts about cost and process. Questions were raised about who would fund the court, how judges are appointed and whether it was wise to change a system that worked, especially when the reforms were presented as a package or in a politically charged climate.

Arguments for the CCJ. Supporters pointed to lower cost and easier access for ordinary litigants, since appeals to London are expensive and travelling there is often impossible, to judges who understand Caribbean conditions, and to the CCJ's record of independent judgments. They also argued that a sovereign state should have a final court of its own region.

Low engagement. Turnout in both referendums was modest, and many commentators felt public education about the courts was limited. That leaves open how a better-informed vote might go.

What the CCJ already decides for Grenada

Even without appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ matters to anyone exercising CARICOM rights in Grenada. The most famous example is the 2013 case brought by Jamaican national Shanique Myrie against Barbados. The CCJ held that CARICOM nationals are entitled to a definite entry and an automatic stay of up to six months when travelling to another member state, subject to narrow exceptions for undesirable persons or those likely to become a charge on public funds. That ruling applies across the Community, including Grenada.

Other cases in the original jurisdiction have concerned trade measures, the common external tariff and rights under the single market. A business or individual who believes a member state has breached treaty rights may be able to bring a claim, although private parties need special leave and must show that the issue affects them directly. For investors from within CARICOM, this provides a regional forum for treaty disputes even while ordinary commercial litigation continues to run through Grenadian courts and up to London.

How a Grenadian case reaches London

The route from a first hearing to the Privy Council has several stages, and most cases stop well before the end. A typical civil case moves as follows:

1. The claim begins in the magistrate's court for smaller matters or in the High Court of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court sitting in St George's for larger claims, family matters and serious criminal cases.
2. A party unhappy with a High Court decision appeals to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, which hears Grenadian appeals during its sittings in the country or, increasingly, by video link.
3. From the Court of Appeal, certain appeals lie to the Privy Council as of right, for example where the value in dispute exceeds a threshold set in the constitution or the issue concerns constitutional interpretation.
4. In other cases, the party must obtain leave to appeal, either from the Court of Appeal or from the Privy Council itself, usually on the basis that the case raises a question of great general or public importance.
5. The Privy Council hears the appeal, often months later, and delivers advice that is given effect as the final decision. Its judgments are published and become part of the case law applied across the Commonwealth Caribbean.

What it means for investors and litigants

For most commercial purposes, the practical court is the High Court of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court sitting in St George's, followed by the Court of Appeal. Only a small share of cases ever reaches the final level. When one does, the Privy Council applies Grenadian law and the common law, and its decisions are widely respected internationally, which some foreign investors find reassuring.

The cost of a Privy Council appeal is significant, and the process can be slow. Hearings may now be conducted remotely in some cases, which has reduced travel costs, but legal fees for counsel experienced in that forum remain high. Parties drafting contracts governed by Grenadian law should understand this appeal route, and some choose arbitration clauses to avoid lengthy litigation altogether. Grenada's attorneys can advise on which dispute-resolution method suits a given transaction.

Watch points for the future

The final-court question is unlikely to go away. If more OECS neighbours move to the CCJ, Grenada will increasingly be an outlier within the shared Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court system, where most Court of Appeal decisions from other states would then go to Port of Spain while Grenada's go to London. That could create pressure for another referendum, perhaps combined with wider constitutional reform.

There are also signals from the United Kingdom side. Senior British judges have at times said publicly that Caribbean states should consider their own final courts, though the Privy Council continues to hear their appeals. Anyone with a long-term stake in Grenada, from investors to returning nationals, should follow announcements by the government and the Grenada Bar Association on any future vote and read the actual question carefully if one is called.

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