Supreme Court of St Helena explained

Court Name:	Supreme Court of St Helena
Jurisdiction:	Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Appealsto:	St Helena Court of Appeal
Location:	Jamestown, Saint Helena
Coordinates:	-15.925°N -5.718°W
Chiefjudgetitle:	Chief Justice
Chiefjudgename:	Rupert Jones ^[1]

The Supreme Court of St Helena together with the St Helena Court of Appeal are the Senior Courts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.^{[2] [3]}

The Supreme Court of St Helena was first established in 1839^[4]

Article 82(3) of the Constitution of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha provides that "the Supreme Court shall possess and may exercise all the jurisdiction which is vested in, or is capable of being exercised by, His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England."^[5]

It is one of four judicial courts that exist in Saint Helena, the other three being the Court of Appeal, the Magistrates' Court and the Juvenile Court. Saint Helena is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom and follows English law in place prior to 2006, as well as legislation from the local legislature.^[6]

Chief justices

The Chief Justice and other judges are appointed by letters patent on the recommendation of the Governor.

• 1836-1863: William Wilde (1st Chief Justice)^[7]
• 1863-1867: William Robert Phelps
• 1867: John Norcross Firmin (acting)
• 1868–1870: Joseph Stone Williams^[8]
• c.1874–1875: William Alexander Parker (afterwards Chief Justice of British Honduras, 1875)
• c.1924: Wilberforce John James Arnold (acting)
• 1959: Lionel Brett^[9]
• 1983–1992: Sir John Farley Spry^[10]
• 1992–2006: Geoffrey William Martin^[11]
• 2007–2021: Charles Wareing Ekins^[12]
• 2022– : Rupert Jones^[13]

See also

• St Helena Magistrates' Court
• Saint Helena Police Service

References

1. Web site: SUPREME COURT NOW IN SESSION. Web. Desk. February 20, 2017. Saint Helena News Express.
2. Web site: The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009.
3. Web site: The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009.
4. Book: Smallman, David. Quincentenary: A Story of St Helena, 1502–2002.
5. Web site: The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009.
6. Web site: General Introduction to Legislation.
7. van Niekerk . JP . 2009 . THE ROLE OF THE VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT AT ST HELENA IN THE ABOLITION OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION (PART 1) . Fundamina . 15 . 1.
8. Web site: Page:Men-at-the-Bar.djvu/545 – Wikisource, the free online library. en.wikisource.org.
9. Web site: Saint Helena-Prison Island. Napoleon.org. 11 August 2016.
10. Web site: Spry, Sir John Farley (1910–1999) Knight. Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College. 21 June 2016.
11. Web site: JUDGE GEOFFREY WILLIAM MARTIN OBE (G46-54). Society of Old Framlintonians. 21 June 2016.
12. Web site: Fifth Anniversary for Chief Justice. South Atlantic Media Services, Ltd.. 21 June 2016.
13. Web site: 2021-12-01 . New Chief Justice Appointed . 2023-07-14 . St Helena Government . en-US.

External links

• Criminal courts on the official government website
• Part VI of the Constitution of St Helena