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How to read legal citations in the Caribbean

Many Caribbean states are common-law countries whose old final appeal court was the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Some now use the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) instead. A case may therefore carry a Privy Council or a CCJ citation.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Style guide: OSCOLA, with local report series. Caribbean courts follow English conventions and cite English-style law reports. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has its own neutral citation.

Real citations, decoded

Click or hover over any underlined piece to see what it means.

A Privy Council appeal from Jamaica Case

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  1. Case name Pratt v Attorney General for Jamaica
    The parties. In many Caribbean cases the state is represented by the Attorney General.
  2. Year [1994]
    In square brackets because the Appeal Cases volumes are arranged by year.
  3. Volume 2
    Volume 2 of that year.
  4. Report series AC
    Appeal Cases, the series for the House of Lords and the Privy Council.
  5. First page 1
    The page where the report begins.
  6. Court PC
    Privy Council.

This 1993 decision held that a long delay before an execution can be inhuman or degrading punishment.

Full citation: Pratt v Attorney General for Jamaica [1994] 2 AC 1 (PC)

A Caribbean Court of Justice judgment Case

  1. Case name Myrie v Barbados
    A Jamaican woman's claim against Barbados under the Treaty of Chaguaramas about her free movement.
  2. Year [2013]
    The year of the judgment.
  3. Court CCJ
    Caribbean Court of Justice.
  4. Number 3
    The running number for that year.
  5. Jurisdiction (OJ)
    Original Jurisdiction. The CCJ also has an Appellate Jurisdiction (AJ) for appeals from some countries' courts.
Full citation: Myrie v Barbados [2013] CCJ 3 (OJ)

Things to remember

  • The CCJ has two roles: Original Jurisdiction (OJ), which interprets the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that set up the Caribbean Community, and Appellate Jurisdiction (AJ), the final court of appeal for some member states, among them Barbados, Guyana, Belize and Dominica.
  • Other Caribbean states, such as Jamaica and the Bahamas, still send final appeals to the Privy Council.
  • The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court covers several small island states, and its judgments carry an ECSC neutral citation.
  • Caribbean constitutions have written bills of rights, so cases are often about rights under the constitution of the country concerned.

Where to find the text, free

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s citation guide is an educational overview of standard conventions. Courts and journals sometimes vary, so check the style guide before submitting or publishing. It is not legal advice. Report a mistake.