BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Judith Whitehead KC, Michaela Sumner-Budhi, Sean McWeeney Jr., Charisma Romer-Cartwright and Hubert Edwards, GrahamThompson
money laundering, corporate governance and regulatory subjects. He has also written extensively and presented on fiscal, economic and national development issues. A chartered accountant with extensive experience in financial services, he is a former deputy managing director of a commercial bank and a former banking regulator.
GrahamThompson Sassoon House Shirley Street & Victoria Avenue PO Box N-272 Nassau The Bahamas Tel: +1 242 322 4130 Fax: +1 242 328 1069 Email: info@gtclaw.com Web: www.grahamthompson.com
The Magistrates′ Court is presided over by stipendiary and circuit magistrates who exercise summary juris - diction in criminal matters and civil matters involving amounts not exceeding BSD20,000. Currently, there are 17 Magistrates′ Courts throughout The Bahamas, with most located in New Providence (the most popu - lous island in The Bahamas). The Supreme Court bench consists of a Chief Jus - tice and not more than 20 additional justices. The Supreme Court has unlimited original jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters and such appellate jurisdic - tion as may be conferred upon it by law. The Court of Appeal, the highest resident court within The Bahamas, is made up of not more than six justices of appeal, inclusive of its President, and has jurisdic - tion in criminal, constitutional, and civil matters. The Judicial Committee of His Majesty′s Privy Council is the highest court for The Bahamas, which sits in England to hear appeals from the Court of Appeal.
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order
As a former colony under British rule, the foundation of Bahamian law and the legal system of The Baha - mas is the common law of England. The Bahamas is a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system of government consisting of three branches: the executive, a bicameral parlia - ment, and the judiciary. The relationship between each branch is governed by the principle of separation of powers and the operation of each branch is enunci - ated in a written constitution. The judiciary of The Bahamas comprises the Magis - trates′ Court, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Judicial Committee of His Majesty′s Privy Council.
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