GRENADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Linda Dolland, Seon & Associates
1. Dispute Resolution Methods 1.1 Main Dispute Resolution Methods The main dispute resolution mechanisms utilised in Grenada to resolve commercial disputes are media- tion (pre- and post-litigation), litigation (including Judi- cial Settlement Conferences introduced for the first time by Part 38A of the Civil Procedure Rules (Revised Edition) 2023 (CPR 2023)); and arbitration. Negotiation and expert determination are also used privately by parties in dispute. 1.2 Choice of Dispute Resolution Method While litigation remains the dominant choice of dis- pute resolution method that is utilised, parties regular- ly engage in mediation either prior to initiating litigation or subsequent to litigation, as mediation is strongly encouraged by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court; parties may be penalised in costs for failing to mediate. Both mediation and litigation are used for resolution of a wide cross-section of disputes, including family (ancillary relief and custody matters), property dis- putes, contractual disputes, construction, employ- ment and commercial disputes. However, litigation remains the principal method of addressing high-value commercial and property disputes, as well as admin- istrative and public law disputes. Arbitration is not used as frequently for dispute res- olution as mediation or litigation, though its use in employment and construction disputes has increased. Investment disputes between foreign investors and the government generally proceed under arbitration. 1.3 Key Dispute Resolution Trends Grenada has an established history of attending medi- ation, and has also consistently had the highest or second highest number of claims being filed in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court system. The current trend appears to be the increased utilisa- tion of Judicial Settlement Conferences, which is a form of mediation/litigation hybrid, in which a judge or judicial officer presides over a settlement confer- ence between the parties, with the goal of having the
dispute settled without the need to proceed to a final determinative hearing or trial.
2. Litigation 2.1 Limitation Periods
The Limitation of Actions Act, Cap 173 of the 2010 Continuous Revised Laws of Grenada governs a wide range of limitation periods within which claims can be brought, including the following. • Recovery of land – 12 years; for the Crown/State, 60 years. • Mortgagor’s right to redeem – 12 years. • Mortgagee’s right to enter or sue – 12 years from last principal/interest payment. • Money charged on land, mortgages, judgments, and legacies – 12 years. • Arrears of rent/interest – six years. • Specialty (deeds, bonds, recognisances, and cov- enants) – 20 years. • Recovery of personal estate of intestate – 20 years. • Trespass to the person and malicious prosecution – four years. • Slander or libel – four years. • Other trespass and simple-contract debts (not on specialty) – six years. • Account/merchant accounts – six years. 2.2 Court Structure Grenada is one of nine member states/territories of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), consti- tuted by the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Order 1967. The court structure in Grenada is as follows. • Magistrates’ Courts (court of summary jurisdiction) – handle minor civil and criminal matters, small claims and landlord–tenant disputes within statu- tory monetary limits; ie, less than XCD10,000. • High Court of Justice (resident judges in St George’s) – unlimited original civil jurisdiction; styled as “the Supreme Court of Grenada and the West Indies Associated States”. • Court of Appeal (itinerant; sits in each member state) – hears civil and criminal appeals; comprises the Chief Justice and Justices of Appeal.
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