THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Wilson KC, Dominique Gardiner and Lovelie Luxama, Wilson Wells
• removal from office of persons holding or acting in the offices of Registrar and Deputy Registrar (Sec- tion 87). The Chair of the Judicial Service Commission is appointed by the Governor acting at their discretion. Two other members from among persons who hold, or have held, high judicial office are appointed by the Governor acting in consultation with the Premier and leader of the opposition. The country’s court system comprises the Magis- trate’s Court, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Pursuant to the Turks and Caicos Islands (Appeal to Privy Council) Order, a final appeal from a judgment of the Court of Appeal lies with leave to His Majesty in Council. As stated in 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceed- ings , it typically takes around a year from commenc- ing proceedings to get to trial, depending on whether proceedings are issued in the Magistrate’s Court or the Supreme Court, with the Magistrate’s Court typi- cally (but not always) being quicker. Other Courts and Tribunals The Coroners Act (Chapter 2.05) provides for a Coro- ner for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Labour Tribunal is a statutory body established by Section 93 of the Employment Act (Chapter 17.08). It has jurisdiction to hear and determine any labour dis- pute or complaint or other matter referred to it under the Employment Act or any other Act. The composi- tion of the Labour Tribunal is prescribed by Section 94 of the Employment Act. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Save for interlocutory hearings heard in chambers, and those matters of a sensitive or highly confiden- tial nature that may be heard in camera (eg, matters involving children or persons with a disability, mat- ters concerning national security and other matters involving confidential information where the court determines that the public interest is not served by the matter being heard in open court), the general rule is that judicial proceedings in the Turks and Caicos Islands are conducted in public and that all proceed-
ings are available for the public to observe. In appro- priate cases, upon application by a party to proceed- ings, the Supreme Court may order its record relating to an action or part thereof to be sealed and thus kept confidential. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Individuals may appear in person in all courts in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but companies must be represented by an attorney in the Supreme Court and higher courts. The Turks and Caicos Islands Bar comprises lawyers who are described as attorneys and who are admit- ted on application to the Chief Justice pursuant to Section 4 of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 2.10) (LPA). Eligibility to be admitted is limited to Turks and Caicos Islanders, as well as any other applicant who has obtained the qualifications specified in Section 5 (1) of the LPA and gained the experience specified in Section 5 (2), and who – in the opinion of the Chief Justice – is otherwise a fit and proper person to be so admitted. The qualifications referred to include that such person: • has been called to the Bar or admitted as a solici- tor or an attorney in some part of the Common- wealth or the Republic of Ireland; • has obtained a Certificate of Legal Education from the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies; and • has not been disbarred or struck off the roll of attorneys of any court in any part of the Common- wealth or the Republic of Ireland, and has not done any act or thing that would render them liable to be disbarred or struck off. The experience referred to is as follows: • in the case of all applicants, not less than three months’ training in the practice of law under the supervision of an attorney admitted to practice in the Islands for not less than two years; and • in the case of an applicant who is not a Turks and Caicos Islander, no less than five years’ experience in practice outside the Turks and Caicos Islands since call or admission (in addition to the above- mentioned experience).
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