Since 30 November 1966, Barbados has been an independent nation. It is a parliamentary republic similar to the Westminster style of government in the United Kingdom. Currently, Sandra Mason serves as President of Barbados after being chosen for a four-year term by the country’s parliament. She is counseled on state affairs by the Prime Minister of Barbados, who also holds that position.
There is no higher law in Barbados than the Constitution. The Parliament in Barbados passes laws, but they don’t become official until the President signs them. Parliament cannot override a citizen’s constitutionally protected right to refuse consent. Judiciary independence is vested in the office of the Attorney General.
BACKGROUND
The Judiciary of Barbados operates independently of other government agencies, answering exclusively to the Barbadian Constitution. The Chief Justice leads the Supreme Court of Barbados. Because of its common law system, precedents from English law and British Commonwealth tradition are admissible in Barbados.
According to the Constitution, the Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court in Barbados’s legal system. The Court has the power to hear cases both on appeal and from the ground up. Within its appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Barbados is the highest court of review for decisions made by the Court of Appeal of Barbados in civil and criminal cases. The Caribbean Court of Justice is a court of the first instance in its home jurisdiction, with authority to interpret and apply international law in cases arising out of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
When requested by Contracting Parties or the Community, the Court has exclusive competence to provide advisory opinions about the application of the Treaty and to resolve any disputes regarding the Court’s jurisdiction.
The Court’s Rules govern the appellate and original jurisdictions of the Caribbean Court of Justice. The lower court magistrates hear cases involving civil, domestic, and criminal concerns on a summary basis. However, it can also hear cases involving liquor licenses, civil weddings, and Coroner’s Inquests. Claim amounts under USD 10,000.00 are heard at the Magistrates’ Courts, which also handle Contract and Tort law.
HOW IS SERVICE OF CLAIM ENACTED IN BARBADOS
Any person in possession of a summons or warrant issued by a magistrate who has subsequently ceased to act as magistrate may execute or serve the summons or warrant in the same manner as if the magistrate who issued it had not ceased so to act. Any successor of the magistrate, or any person acting for the magistrate, may hear, determine, execute, enforce, and c.
On the day of the hearing for the plaint, the plaintiff may make a statement to the court before he begins calling their evidence. A defendant is entitled to address the court once the plaintiff has presented all of their evidence, regardless of whether or not they plan to call any witnesses. Suppose the defendant and any other witness have been summoned on behalf of the defendant. In that case, the defendant may address the court after the defense has presented its evidence, if any, or with the judge’s permission.
If the defendant is given two opportunities to address the court as described above, the plaintiff will be given an equal opportunity to respond. All documents and other items presented in court by the witnesses, or any of them, must be cataloged and labeled or otherwise marked by the judge.
FILING OF DOCUMENTS
All documents delivered to the clerk in any action or matter shall be filed and distinguished by the number of the plaint in respect to which they are filed. The clerk will keep such books as the Judicial Advisory Council may direct to be kept, and each entry therein will be numbered, corresponding with the number of the plant to which it relates.
The clerk should issue summonses, warrants, and other process forms without delay after the entry of the plants or the application for them. The clerk should deliver all summonses and sufficient copies to the Chief Writ Officer, who will serve all such summonses in the manner prescribed by law and without undue delay. They will make a return by affidavit describing the mode of service or the fact and cause of non-service.
Suppose the writ officer receiving the summons discovers that the defendant has moved out of the address listed but is still within the district. In that case, they must serve the summons as if the correct address had been listed and update the copy he keeps to reflect the new location.
No party should have the right to choose the Clerk as their agent. No official of the court, including the clerk, should in any manner serve as the agent for or on behalf of any suitor, and no officer of the court should ever become a surety in any matter where the customer needs security or practice of the court.
BARBADOS COURT SYSTEM
The High Court of Barbados hears cases involving significant business conflicts. The court has separate sections for civil, criminal, family, and, most recently, commercial cases. The High Court’s Commercial Division handles cases involving intellectual property, banking, insurance, insolvency, bankruptcy, contracts, and insurance.
The parties’ actions before filing a lawsuit are governed by pre-action protocols, which may be applied broadly or to a narrower set of circumstances. When attempting to resolve a lawsuit out of court, both parties should be reasonable and cooperative in sharing pertinent information and documents.
Form 1 and the claimant’s statement of claim must be filed at the Supreme Court Registry to initiate a claim. Filing a fixed-date claim form (Form 2) with an accompanying affidavit is required in some circumstances (such as procedures involving the acquisition of land or hire purchase or credit agreements) in place of Form 1. The claim form has to include some basic information, including the nature of the claim, the remedy being sought, the claimant’s address for service, and an explicit claim for interest if that is being sought. Without the court’s consent, the claimant cannot rely on any accusation that is not included in the statement of claim or supporting affidavit. Thus, the claimant must take the time to do so.
The claim form, an acknowledgment of service form, a defense form with explanatory notes on possible responses to the claim form, an application for payment by installments (when the claim is for a set amount), and the statement of claim are all required to be served on a defendant. Defendants must be physically served with a claim form in most cases. When personal service is not possible, the claimant may use other means of service (such as by post or advertisement) to ensure that the defendant receives a copy of the claim form; however, for the court to recognize that the claim form has been served, the claimant must prove that the defendant was able to ascertain the contents of the pleadings served on them through that alternate method.
SERVICE OF FOREIGN PROCESS IN BARBADOS
The HCCH Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters 1965, to which Barbados is a party (Hague Service Convention). The Central Authority (the Registry of the Supreme Court of Barbados) coordinates legal services in accordance with local rules (typically personal service). The language of the translated documents must be the official language of Barbados. Hague Service Convention procedures are expected to take nine to twelve months.
Informally effecting service may also be possible depending on the foreign jurisdiction’s laws. It is common practice to hire local lawyers or a private process server to serve documents in compliance with the rules (often by personal service) and to draught any necessary evidence of service. In most cases, informal service may be completed in days rather than weeks, a significant time-saving.
An application for an order under Part 71 of the CPR must be submitted to the High Court to gather evidence from a witness in Barbados for use in overseas proceedings. Affidavit evidence demonstrating the need for evidence to be taken must be included with the application. A verified translation must accompany any requests written in a language other than English into English. After the order has been issued, the witness will be examined either by the applicant’s chosen examiner or by the court’s examiner. The examiner will then send the witness’s deposition to the court. The court will provide a sealed certificate identifying the request, the order for the examination, and the deposition and will arrange for it to be sent to the court or tribunal of the requesting jurisdiction.
The HCCH Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, 1970, has been ratified by Barbados (Hague Evidence Convention). The execution of the request may be governed by Barbados’s domestic procedural rules (as set down in Part 71 of the CPR) in accordance with Article 9 of the Hague Evidence Convention.
Judgment enforcement in Barbados is handled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act. The application and supporting proof on the affidavit must be filed twelve months after the decision (or as otherwise permitted by the court). The time limit for filing a motion to vacate the registration of the judgment will be included in the decision granting permission to register the judgment. After the decision has been registered and the time allowed for challenging the registration has passed, the judgment may be executed in Barbados just as if it had been acquired locally.
Once the Governor General is certain that provisions for the recognition and execution of decisions obtained in other Commonwealth nations outside the UK are in place, he or she may extend this process to other countries. Suppose you have a money judgment from a country other than the United Kingdom (or one of the qualified Commonwealth nations). In that case, you may have it enforced in Barbados by filing new actions to collect the sum owing under the foreign judgment. The debt may be collected by having the Barbados judgment enforced if the debt is owed.
When it comes to the execution of foreign judgments, Barbados is not a signatory to any treaties or conventions.
Our Process
Documents can be faxed (800)-296-0115, emailed ps@undisputedlegal.com, mailed to 590 Madison Avenue, 21 Floor, New York, New York 10022, or dropped off at any of our locations. We do require pre-payment and accept all major credit and debit cards. Once payment is processed, your sales receipt is immediately emailed for your records.
Drop-offs must call and make an appointment first to be added to building security to permit access to our office. Documents for service must be in a sealed envelope with payment in the form of a money order or attorney check (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH) payable to UNDISPUTED LEGAL INC. All documents are received by our receptionist.
DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:
Alaska | Alabama | Arkansas | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | District of Columbia | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Iowa | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Maine | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | North Carolina | North Dakota | Nebraska | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | Nevada | New York | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Virginia | Vermont | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:
Albania | Andorra | Anguilla | Antigua | Argentina | Armenia | Australia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Bahamas | Barbados| Belarus | Belgium | Belize | Bermuda | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Botswana | Brazil | British Honduras | British Virgin Islands | Bulgaria | Canada | Cayman Islands | Central and Southern Line Islands | Chile |China (Macao) | China People’s Republic | Colombia | Costa Rica | Country of Georgia | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | Egypt | Estonia | Falkland Islands and Dependences | Fiji | Finland | France | Germany | Gibraltar | Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Greece | Guernsey | Hong Kong | Hungary | Iceland | India | Ireland| Isle of Man | Israel | Italy | Jamaica | Japan | Jersey Channel Islands | Jordan | Kazakhstan | Korea | Kuwait | Latvia| Lithuania | Luxembourg| Malawi | Malaysia | Malta | Mauritius | Mexico | Monaco | Montenegro | Montserrat | Morocco | Namibia | Netherlands | New Zealand |Nicaragua | Norway | Pakistan | Panama | Paraguay | Peru | Philippines | Pitcairn |Poland| Portugal | Republic of Moldova | Republic of North Macedonia | Romania |Russian Federation | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | San Marino | Saudi Arabia | Serbia | Seychelles | Singapore| Slovakia| Slovenia | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka | St. Helena and Dependencies | St. Lucia | Sweden | Switzerland | Taiwan | Thailand | Tunisia | Turkey | Turks and Caicos Islands | Ukraine | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Uruguay | US Virgin Islands | Uzbekistan | Venezuela | Vietnam
OFFICE LOCATIONS
New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 – 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 – 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 300, Washington DC 20004
for assistance serving legal papers in Barbados
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Sources
1. It has original, binding jurisdiction over:
1. Disputes between parties to the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice;
2. Disputes between any party to the agreement and the Caribbean Community; and
3. Disputes referred to it by national courts or tribunals of parties to the agreement. A person may file an application with the Caribbean Court of Justice under the Caribbean Court of Justice Act for assistance in interpreting or applying the treaty.
2. If a warrant is not executed within one month of its delivery to the Marshal, the Marshal must explain why it has not been executed in the book he keeps for that purpose and execute the warrant as soon as practicable. The Marshal must also be available to any person who files a claim against him at all reasonable times and must provide the claimant with a copy of the book containing this information.
3. According to the regulations, a typical pre-action process should consist of the following:
Writing a letter outlining the claim is a requirement for a claimant. Promptly (within seven days of receipt), the defendant acknowledged the letter and responded in writing. There are no defined consequences for violating the appropriate protocols. A failure may, however, factor into the court’s decision to issue a management and/or costs order.
4. The deadline for filing a claim form is 12 months from the day it was issued.
5. Mareva injunctions, sometimes known as freezing orders, are available under Barbados law as interim measures to safeguard assets until verdict. However, in reality, they are seldom given.
6. The government of Barbados has established a Law Reform Commission to reevaluate and update current laws and draft and pass brand-new ones. A bill concerning the admissibility of electronic evidence has been flagged for introduction by the Law Reform Commission. In addition, later this year, the Supreme Court Registry will begin accepting electronic filings according to the newly formulated practice guidelines
