BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: John F. Wilson KC and Adrienne N. Bellot, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes
These pre-trial reviews are also heard via remote video platforms. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Jury trials are not available in any civil cases. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Evidence is usually taken at trial, although wit- ness statements, which stand as evidence in chief at trial, are exchanged in advance of the trial. Evidence is taken from the person with first-hand knowledge of the evidence in ques- tion. In certain circumstances, hearsay evidence is admissible and it is left to the court to deter- mine what weight to attribute to it. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted. However, it is restricted to evidence that is reasonably required to resolve the proceedings justly. Parties can only call expert witnesses with the court’s per- mission. If two or more parties wish to submit evidence on the same issue, the court may direct that expert evidence be given by an independent expert witness. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In The Bahamas, the open justice principle applies. Accordingly, all matters to be heard in open court are open to the public, and tran- scripts of those hearings are also available to the public. However, the public is not permitted to attend chamber applications. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The level of intervention by a judge during a hearing or trial varies depending on the judge. However, judges often intervene as much as is required to determine the matter. If the judge requires that a question be asked of a witness
in order to determine the issue and the question has not been asked by counsel, the judge will ask the witness the question. Judges often reserve judgments at the conclu- sion of trials. With respect to hearings, whether the ruling is reserved to a later date depends on the complexity of the issues, the implications of the decision and whether evidence and submis- sions have been submitted. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings Once the defence has been filed (within 28 days from the filing of the statement of claim), the case management conference takes place not less than four weeks but not more than twelve weeks thereafter. The trial date(s) depends on the availability of the court’s calendar, which can be anywhere from a few months to nine months from the date of the case management confer- ence. Typically, unless it is a very complex, docu- ment-heavy matter, it takes approximately 18-24 months to bring a matter on for trial, depending on the court’s calendar. The duration of the trial would depend on the number of witnesses to be called and examined and the length of those examinations. 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval Court approval is required where one of the par- ties is a minor. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The actual terms upon which a matter has been settled will be confidential. However, it may not be possible to keep the fact of the settlement of the proceedings confidential, as this would be
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