NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Court of Appeal has granted conditional leave for a landmark immigration and constitutional case to be appealed to the UK-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
In its September 11 ruling, the appellate court noted that the matter qualifies as an as-of-right appeal under section 23(1) of the Court of Appeal Act, raising constitutional questions of general public importance. Specifically, the Privy Council will be asked to determine whether a reserved judgment handed down by a retired Supreme Court justice is unconstitutional and a nullity under Article 96 of the Constitution, or whether it can be preserved through other constitutional provisions or the de facto officer doctrine.
As the application was unopposed, the Court granted conditional leave on the usual terms, requiring the applicant to post security of $2,861 and to transmit the appeal record to London within 90 days.
The case stems from Haitian-Bahamian applicant Daphene Nonord’s 2013 bid for Bahamian citizenship under Article 7 of the Constitution. In 2024, retired Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bowe-Darville awarded her $575,000 in damages over lengthy delays in processing the application. The judgment, however, was delivered nearly three years after Bowe-Darville’s retirement in 2021, triggering a constitutional challenge.
Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal struck down the ruling as unconstitutional, with a four-to-one majority holding that a judge has no authority to issue judgments after vacating office. One justice dissented, arguing that Article 96 could be interpreted more flexibly.
