Home > Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The judicial system of the United Kingdom is unusual in having no single highest national court; the Judicial Committee is the highest court of appeal in some cases, while in most others the highest court of appeal is the House of Lords. In Scottish criminal cases the highest court is the High Court of Justiciary.

1 Jurisdiction

The Committee holds jurisdiction in appeals from the following countries "to Her Majesty in Council"

• The Commonwealth Realms of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint LuciaAlternate use: see the Catholic saint Saint Lucy. Saint Lucia is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and, Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent sovereign state of the Caribbean, part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ( In Detail) (Full size) National motto: Pax et justitia Latin: Peace and justice Official language and TuvaluTuvalu is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, whose name means "Eight Standing Together" in Tuvaluan. With the exception of tiny Vatican City, it is the independent nation with the fewest inhabitants. Due to their low elevation (5 meters maximum), the.
• The United Kingdom Overseas Territories of AnguillaAlternative meaning Anguilla is a genus of freshwater eel (sole genus in the family Anguillidae). Anguilla or Snake is an island in the eastern Caribbean and is a British dependency with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor., BermudaThis article is about the island of Bermuda. See Bermuda sloop and Bermuda rig for the associated sailing terms''. Bermuda is a self-governing island Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. In the early 20th century, as m, British Virgin IslandsThe British Virgin Islands are a group of islands located in the northeast Carribean. They include Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Peter Island, Salt Island, Beef Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Norman Island, and many other small isl, Cayman IslandsThe Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the West Indies, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. First visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the, Falkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic consisting of two main islands known as East Falkland and West Falkland and a number of smaller islands. Sovereignty of the islands is also claimed by Argentina wher, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena and dependencies, Turks and Caicos Islands.
• The United Kingdom's Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus.

Appeal is directly to the Committee from

• The Commonwealth Republics of Dominica, Mauritius, and if the case involves constitutional rights Kiribati.

Appeal is to the Sultan in

• Brunei. (The Queen and the Sultan have agreed that the Judicial Committee hears the case and reports to the Sultan.)

Her Majesty in Council has jurisdiction in the following domestic matters:

• The Crown Dependencies of the Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
• Cases involving devolution issues arising under the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act 1998 or the Northern Ireland Act 1998, i.e. disputes regarding the validity of acts of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or the Northern Ireland Assembly. The cases may reach the Committee as follows:
  • The Attorney-General or other Law Officers may refer a bill from the devolved body to the Committee.
  • The litigants may appeal a case from certain superior courts.
  • Appellate courts, including the House of Lords, may refer a case to the Committee.
  • Any court, if a Law Officer so desires, may refer a case to the Committee.
  • Law Officers may refer any issue not related to a bill or case to the Committee.
• Appeals from the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
• Appeals against schemes of the Church Commissioners (who control the estate of the Church of England).
• Appeals from the ecclesiastical courts (the Arches Court of Canterbury and the Chancery Court of York) in non-doctrinal faculty cases.
• Appeals from the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports.
• Appeals from Prize Courts.
• Disputes under the House of Commons Disqualification Act.

Additionally, the Queen may refer any issue to the committee for a report.