Litigation 2025

BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: John F. Wilson KC and Adrienne N. Bellot, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes

10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation Judgments and orders from the Supreme Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal as of right. Judgments and orders from the Court of Appeal can be appealed to the Privy Council, which is the highest appellate court. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments Final judgments and orders made by the Supreme Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal. However, leave from a Supreme Court judge is required to appeal interlocutory orders of the Supreme Court. Appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Privy Council require leave of the Court of Appeal, which is granted where the monetary value of the judgment exceeds BSD4,000 and/or the appeal raises a point of general public importance. 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal In the case of an appeal from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal, the intended applicant must file a notice of appeal within fourteen days in the case of an appeal from an interlocutory order and six weeks in other cases from the date of the judgment or order from the court below. Intended applicants can apply for extensions of time for this period. In respect of an appeal from the Court of Appeal, the intended appellant must apply for provisional leave within six weeks, during which time they must pay the bond and settle the record of the appeal.

10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal Appeals can be taken on both points of law and points of fact. The appellant must prove that the judge erred either in not making a factual finding or on a point of law. However, an appel- late court will not re-hear the matter, but there will be a review of the first instance decision. An appeal court will only consider new points which were not made before the court below where the party making the point did not have a reasonable opportunity to advance the point before the court below and if it relates to new evidence that was not available to the party at the time of the trial. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal There is no ability for the Supreme Court to impose conditions on granting leave to appeal where leave to appeal is required. As a condition of prosecuting an appeal, the Court of Appeal requires the intended appellant to pay a bond for prosecuting the appeal. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing The appellate court can reverse or affirm the decision of the court below, or send the matter back to the court below to be reheard. 11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation Costs are entirely in the discretion of the court. Ordinarily, however, the successful party is awarded costs. As such, the losing party pays the costs (the “reasonable” amount of attorney fees) of the successful party. The court may, however, make no order as to costs. There are

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