The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on July 20th provided reasons for denying special leave on June 30th to two Guyanese men who were seeking to appeal their drug convictions in Barbados.
The apex court made it clear that the function of the requirement to obtain special leave to appeal is to ensure that unmeritorious appeals do not go before it.
Specifically, the court said that “a dissatisfied litigant is not allowed to appeal further simply because they are dissatisfied with the result,” especially where the intended appeal lacks merit. This ruling will have resonance with recent cases here pertaining to the March 2nd general elections.