On the 29th May 2018, the Court of Appeal agreed with our junior associate, Mrs. Melissa Modeste-Singh on her assertion of the preliminary point that the High Court could in fact entertain challenges to the constitutionality of Section 21(4) of the Crown Proceedings Act (“CPA”) and the Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR”) Parts 50.2(3) and 59.7 when raised within existing proceedings.
The Respondent challenged this contention submitting that any constitutional challenges must to be raised via a separate application to the High Court in the form of a Fixed Date Claim.
This decision by the Court of Appeal encapsulates the true spirit of swift justice and also furthers the principle of the overriding objective, components of which are to save time and expense.
This preliminary victory in the Court of Appeal sets the stage for the vastly significant argument that the CPA Section 21(4), which reflects the procedure for seeking satisfaction of ordinary debts and CPR Parts 50.2(3) and 59.7, which in essence prohibit the enforcement of any debts accruing from the Crown, infringe on an individual’s constitutional right to a fair hearing guaranteed by Section 8 (8) of Grenada’s Constitution.
The High Court heard this matter on 12th June, 2019 with judgment being reserved.
