![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260109_091418-COLLAGE-642x482.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dominica will serve as host country for the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), kicking off the new judicial year with its customary ceremonial opening on Monday, January 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
A ECSC press release shared that this event will be held under the theme \u201cThe ECSC: Justice that Endures – Anchored in Independence, Strengthened through Trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Court of Appeal\u2019s first sitting of 2026 is also scheduled to take place in the country.<\/p>\n
The opening festivities typically begin with a church service across most Member States and Territories, followed by a procession leading to the High Court, where a formal Special Sitting will convene.<\/p>\n
The church service is set for Fatima Catholic Church on Sunday, January 11, 2026, at 9 AM.<\/p>\n
The following day, Monday, January 12, the celebration continues at 9:00 AM, with a procession to the State House Conference Room\u2014designated as a court for the occasion\u2014to officially mark the start of the Law Year. This will include a Guard of Honour inspection, immediately followed by the Special Sitting scheduled for 10:00 AM.<\/p>\n
According to the release, for the first time in four years, simultaneous court sessions will be held across the other eight Member States and Territories of the OECS. Her Ladyship the Hon. Mde. Margaret Price Findlay, Acting Chief Justice, will deliver the keynote address from the Court in Dominica.<\/p>\n
Her speech will be broadcast live to the other Member States and Territories through the media platforms of the Commonwealth of Dominica Information Services, as well as via the social media channels of the ECSC. Additionally, the address will be streamed live on the Court\u2019s official website, Facebook page, and through the websites and social media outlets of the Government Information Services in each jurisdiction, along with UWITV.<\/p>\n
The ECSC is encouraging community members to engage with the proceedings of the Law Year\u2019s opening, either by attending the church service or the Special Sitting, or by tuning in through various media channels to witness the event remotely.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1967 through West Indies Associated States Supreme Court Order No. 223, the ECSC functions as a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).<\/p>\n
Its jurisdiction encompasses six independent nations\u2014Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines\u2014as well as three British Overseas Territories, including Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat. The court possesses unlimited jurisdiction within each of its Member States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dominica will serve as host country for the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), kicking off the new judicial year with its customary ceremonial opening on Monday, January 12, 2026. A ECSC press release shared that this event will be…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":354926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-court-law","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n