Windward Islands and Leeward Islands (Courts) Order in Council, 1959
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1959/2197 |
1959 No. 2197
COURTS
The Windward Islands and Leeward Islands (Courts) Order in Council, 195921stDecember 1959
1stJanuary 1960
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 21st day of December, 1959
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by Section 4 of the Leeward Islands Act, 1956(a), and by the Dominica Act, 1938(b), and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
PART I—INTRODUCTORY
Citation, commencement, application and revocation
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands (Courts) Order in Council, 1959.
(2) This Order shall come into operation on the first day of January, 1960.
(3) This Order shall apply to the Colonies of Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, Saint Christopher Nevis and Anguilla, Montserrat and the Virgin Islands.
(4) The Orders in Council set out in the First Schedule to this Order are revoked.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order, unless it is otherwise provided or required by the context—
"the existing Orders" means the Orders in Council set out in the First Schedule to this Order;
"the Federal Constitution" means the Constitution of the West Indies annexed to the West Indies (Federation) Order in Council, 1957(c);
"the Federation" means the Federation of the West Indies established by the West Indies (Federation) Order in Council, 1957(c);
"the Federal Supreme Court" means the Federal Supreme Court established by the Federal Constitution;
"the Governor-General" means the Governor-General of the Federation;
(a) 4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 23.
(b) 1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 10.
(c) S.I. 1957/1364 (1957 I, p. 202).
"judgment" includes decree, order, conviction, sentence and decision.
(2) In this Order, unless it is otherwise provided or required by the context—
(a) any reference to the holder of an office by the term designating his office shall be construed as including a reference to any person who, under and to the extent of any authority in that behalf, is for the time being performing the functions of that office;
(b) any reference to Her Majesty's dominions shall be construed as including a reference to all countries and territories within the Commonwealth.
(3) For the purposes of this Order, the resignation of the holder of any office or appointment that is required to be addressed to any person shall have effect from the time that it is received by that person.
(4) For the avoidance of doubts it is hereby declared that any person who has vacated any office established by this Order may, if qualified, again be appointed to that office from time to time.
(5) The Governor-General shall not be obliged to obtain the advice of the Council of State of the Federation in relation to the exercise of any function conferred upon him by this Order.
(6) The Administrator of any Colony to which this Order applies shall not be obliged to obtain the advice of the Executive Council of the Colony in relation to the exercise of any function conferred upon him by this Order which is expressed to be exercisable by him in his discretion or on the recommendation of, or after consultation with, any person or authority other than the Executive Council.
(7) Where the Governor-General or the Administrator of any Colony is directed by this Order to exercise any function on the recommendation of any person or authority, he shall exercise that function in accordance with such recommendation:
Provided that—
(a) before he acts in accordance therewith, he may, in his discretion, once refer that recommendation back for reconsideration by the person or authority concerned; and
(b) if that person or authority, having reconsidered the original recommendation under the preceding paragraph, substitutes therefor a different recommendation, the provisions of this sub-section shall apply to that different recommendation as they apply to the original recommendation.
(8) Save as in this Order otherwise provided or required by the context, the Interpretation Act, 1889(a), shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
PART II—THE SUPREME COURT
Establishment of Supreme Court
3.—(1) There shall be a Supreme Court for the Colonies to which this Order applies which shall be styled the Supreme Court of the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands and shall be a superior court of record.
(a) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(2) Subject to section 5 and subsection (3) of section 9 of this Order, the judges of the Supreme Court shall be a Chief Justice and such number of Puisne Judges as the Governor-General, after consultation with the Administrators of the Colonies to which this Order applies, may from time to time determine.
(3) The Chief Justice shall be President of the Supreme Court and shall take precedence of all other judges of the Court, and the seniority of the other judges of the Court shall be determined in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Governor-General.
(4) No office of Puisne Judge shall be abolished while there is a substantive holder thereof.
(5) The Supreme Court shall be deemed to be duly constituted notwithstanding a vacancy in the office of any judge of the Court.
Appointment of judges
4.—(1) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the Governor-General after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Federation.
(2) The Puisne Judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the Governor-General acting on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.
(3) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court unless—
(a) he is qualified to practise as an advocate in a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of Her Majesty's dominions, and
(b) he has been qualified for not less than five years to practise as an advocate or solicitor in such a court.
(4) Appointments under this section shall be made by instrument under the public seal of the Federation.
Acting judges
5.—(1) If the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is vacant or if the Governor-General is satisfied that the Chief Justice is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, the Governor-General, acting after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Federation, may appoint one of the Puisne Judges or some other person qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court to perform the functions of that office.
(2) If the office of any Puisne Judge is vacant or if any such judge is acting as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or if the Governor-General is satisfied that any Puisne Judge is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office or that the state of business in the Supreme Court so requires, the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, may appoint a person qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court to act as a Puisne Judge of that Court.
(3) A person appointed under this section to act as Chief Justice or as a Puisne Judge shall (unless he earlier resigns his acting office or is removed therefrom under the next following section or, in the case of a Puisne Judge appointed to act as Chief Justice, ceases to hold the office of Puisne Judge) continue to hold that office until he is notified by the Governor-General that circumstances giving rise to the need for his services in that office no longer exist.
(4) Any person appointed to act as a judge of the Supreme Court under this section may, notwithstanding that he has ceased to hold his acting office by virtue of a notification given under the last foregoing subsection, sit as a judge for the purpose of giving judgment or otherwise in relation to any proceeding heard by him while he was so acting.
Tenure of office of judges
6.—(1) (a) Subject to the following provisions of this section, each judge of the Supreme Court shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-two years:
Provided that the Governor-General acting, in the case of the Chief Justice, after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Federation and, in the case of a Puisne Judge, in accordance with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, may permit a judge to continue in his office after attaining that age for a further period or periods not extending beyond the date on which that judge attains the age of sixty-seven years.
(b) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a person appointed to act as Chief Justice or as a Puisne Judge in respect of his acting office.
(2) A judge of the Supreme Court may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor-General.
(3) A judge of the Supreme Court may be removed from office only for inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of the next following subsection.
(4) A judge of the Supreme Court shall be removed from office by the Governor-General, by order under the public seal of the Federation, if the question of the removal of that judge from office has, at the request of the Governor-General made in pursuance of the next following subsection, been referred by Her Majesty to the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council under section 4 of the Judicial Committee Act, 1833(a), or any other enactment enabling Her Majesty in that behalf, and the Judicial Committee has advised Her Majesty that the judge ought to be removed from office for inability as aforesaid or misbehaviour.
(5) If the Chief Justice of the Federation (in the case of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a Puisne Judge who is acting as Chief Justice) or...
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