Court of Appeal

Appeals from the Grand Court go to the Court of Appeal. Like the Grand Court, the Court of Appeal is a Superior Court of Record. Unlike the Grand Court, however, the Court of Appeal does not exercise inherent jurisdiction but is a creature of statute and of the Constitution.

The Court of Appeal is comprised of judges who have held high judicial office for many years in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Three judges sitting together constitute the Court. There is at present a roster of four or more appellate judges. The current President is the Rt. Hon. Sir John Goldring, and one of two members of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal who have been members of the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council.

The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal was established in 1984. It usually sits for three sessions of three weeks each year in the Cayman Islands. Before 1984, appeals were heard by the Court of Appeal of Jamaica exercising jurisdiction for the Cayman Islands. Sittings were held either in Grand Cayman or Jamaica.

Appeals from the Court of Appeal go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which is the final Appellate Court for the Cayman Islands.