President's Message

Welcome to the website of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, a superior court of record and the highest court established on Jamaican soil over 62 years ago!  

Although the court is the second highest court in the hierarchy of courts in Jamaica's justice system, most cases are resolved at this level, with only a relatively small number of cases reaching the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the apex court. This makes the court, essentially, the country's final court of appeal.

In the face of that reality, we unrelentingly strive to serve our stakeholders with excellence to ensure that public confidence in the court is always maintained. Our commitment to serve is expressed in our mission statement: "to serve all stakeholders with integrity and fairness by delivering sound, timely judgments and efficient and acceptable court services in a healthy and fulfilling work environment". We take our mission seriously.

While we are proud of many of our accomplishments, we are equally mindful that we must continue to do more to actualize our goals. Therefore, we are determined to continue our pursuit of greater transparency, efficiency, competency, and accountability in court services while providing a healthy, safe, and fulfilling work environment.

The court has also enthusiastically embraced the Jamaican Judiciary's recently launched Strategic Plan for 2024-2028, an impressive, aspirational charter for achieving court excellence, a goal to which we are unwaveringly committed.

We are pleased to facilitate better access to the court and its operations through the information provided on this website. This includes vital facts about the court's jurisdiction, history, composition, decisions, sittings, processes and procedures. The decisions of the court are delivered in different formats – written and oral judgments, memoranda of reasons, and endorsements. The decisions are readily available not only to the court's litigants and their counsel but also to the general public.

We have also facilitated better access to court hearings by providing access to the online Zoom platform, which works within a hybrid system with in-person hearings. This means the court is brought much closer to the public it serves.

We hope this website will be a valuable resource for all our external and internal stakeholders. At the same time, we are committed to its continuous improvement and enhancement. Among other initiatives, we are considering the introduction of an online protocol for self-represented litigants. We believe this initiative will significantly enhance the accessibility, comprehensibility and efficiency of our court services.  We welcome your feedback and suggestions on this proposed initiative or any other initiative you believe the court could implement to serve you better.

We are looking forward to a mutually fulfilling partnership with all our stakeholders!

Marva McDonald-Bishop, OJ, CD

President