The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the Supreme Court, Parish Courts, Family Court and Tribunals.

The court also determines references by the Governor-General as well as questions of law reserved or case stated for its consideration by a Judge, Parish Courts or Justices of the Peace sitting in Petty Sessions.

The main statutes which speak to the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal are:

1. the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act;
2. the Judicature (Parish Court) Act; and
3. the Justices of the Peace (Appeals) Act.

The rules relating to the procedure in the court are found in the Court of Appeal Rules.
For further information please see the jurisdiction page on this website.

The Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act allows for up to thirteen judges inclusive of the President. There are currently twelve judges including the President. 

Generally the court sits in panels of three judges, however, the President may convene a larger panel of judges where warranted.

In court the judges are to be addressed as “My Lord” or “My Lady”. When writing the names of judges for example on formal orders the format to be used is “The Hon Mr/Mrs/Miss Justice ___” followed by P for President or JA for Judge of Appeal.

For the scheduled court sittings please see the court sittings page on this website.

Hearings in court commences each sitting at 9:30 am unless otherwise directed. Hearings in chambers before a single judge of appeal are usually conducted on Tuesdays starting at either 10:00 am or 2:00 pm.

Except for appeals from the Parish Court, an appeal is made by filing a notice of appeal.

Appeals from Parish Courts are made by either giving verbal notice at the time of the judgment or by filing written notice of appeal.

Appeals from Parish Courts must be filed in the respective Parish Court. All other appeals are filed in the registry of the Court of Appeal.

For civil appeals from the Supreme Court or  Tribunals, notices of appeal must be stamped at the Stamp Office for $5,000.00.

For civil appeals from Parish Courts the fees are $5000.00 as security for the due prosecution of the appeal and $15,000.00 for security for the payment of costs.

No filing fees are charged in criminal appeals/applications for permission to appeal.

Civil appeals are filed in the form of a notice and grounds of appeal (see Form A 1 of the Court of Appeal Rules).

A person seeking to appeal a conviction or sentence in the Supreme Court does so by filing a notice of appeal/notice of application for permission to appeal (Form B1).

For printable forms please see the court forms page on this website.

Section 11(1)(f) of the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act stipulates the circumstances in which permission to appeal is required. 

No it does not. You would therefore need to file a notice of application for a stay of execution. Please refer to rule 2.11 of the Court of Appeal Rules.

Except for appeals from the Parish Courts, notices of appeal in civil matters must be filed and served:

1. (for an interlocutory appeal where permission to appeal is not required) within 14 days of the date on which the decision appealed against was made;
2. (where permission to appeal is required) within 14 days of the date when permission was granted; or
3. (in the case of any other appeal) within 42 days of the date on which the order or judgment being appealed was made.

For civil appeals from Parish Courts the party appealing may give verbal notice of appeal at the time the judgment is given or may within 14 days of the date of the judgment file written notice of appeal in the Parish Court.

For Supreme Court criminal matters the notice of appeal/notice of application for permission to appeal is to be filed within 14 days of the date of conviction.

To appeal from the Parish court you may either give verbal notice of appeal at the time when the judgment is pronounced or file written notice of appeal within 14 days of the judgment. Grounds of appeal should also be filed in the Parish Court within 21 days from the date of judgment.

For civil appeals you will need to file an application for extension of time to appeal.

For criminal matters from the Supreme Court you will have to file a notice of application for extension of time within which to appeal from the Supreme Court (Form B2) with your notice of appeal/notice of application for permission to appeal (Form B1).

The Court of Appeal does not have the power to extend the time to file an appeal in criminal appeals from Parish Courts.

For civil and criminal appeals from Parish Courts, when the appeal is filed (verbally or in writing) the Parish Court prepares the record of proceedings and forwards it to the Court of Appeal and to the parties. Once the record of proceedings is received by the Court of Appeal a hearing date is set for the appeal.

In the case of other civil appeals, if it is a procedural appeal it is set for consideration on paper by the court. If it is an appeal in which no oral evidence was taken, the appellant is required to file the record of appeal within 28 days of filing the appeal.

If it is an appeal in which oral evidence was taken, a request will be made for a certified copy of the record of proceedings (inclusive of the notes of evidence and reasons for judgment). Once received the parties will be notified and the appellant required to file the record of appeal within 28 days of being notified.

Once the record of appeal is filed the matter is referred to a single judge who may make case management orders on paper or direct that a case management conference be scheduled.

For criminal matters from the Supreme Court once the notice of appeal/application for leave to appeal is filed in Form B1 a request is made for the transcript. When the transcript is received from the Supreme Court it is referred to a single judge of appeal who then determines whether to grant the application for leave to appeal. If leave to appeal is granted, the matter is set for hearing before a panel of three judges. If leave to appeal is refused the applicant may apply in Form B6 to have the application considered by a panel of three judges.

The Notice of Application for Court Orders (Form 7) found in the Civil Procedure Rules is to be used save and except for applications for permission to appeal in criminal matters in which case Criminal Form B1 found in the Court of Appeal Rules should be used.

If the application is one within the purview of a single judge, such as applications for stays of execution, injunctions or security for costs, it is referred to a judge for consideration on paper. The judge may make an order on paper or may direct that an oral hearing be scheduled.

If the application is one for the determination of the court such as civil applications for an extension of time to appeal or for permission to appeal, a date is set for hearing in court.

If the court makes an order on an appeal, the registry will issue the notification of the results of that appeal to the relevant parties.

If the court or a judge in chambers makes an order on an application or at case management, the parties (usually the applicant or appellant) is to file the formal order.

General court forms are available on the court’s website. Click here for direct access.

You may represent yourself at the Court of Appeal. However, because both the law and the appellate process are complex, you may wish to seek legal advice.

Please note that while the registry can provide general information on procedures, it cannot give you legal advice.

For assistance you may contact:

The Kingston Legal Aid Clinic

The Montego Bay Legal Aid Clinic

The Norman Manley Law School Legal Aid Clinic

The Jamaican Bar Association

The Cornwall Bar Association

The Advocates Association

The Northern Bar Association

The Southern Bar Association

Court of Appeal

Public Building West

P.O. Box 629

King Street

Kingston

Jamaica, West Indies

Telephone no. (876) 665-3530

Fax no. (876) 967-1843

Email: [email protected]

All correspondence to the court should be addressed to the Registrar.