Welcome to the Turks and Caicos Islands LII
TCILII is a website of the Judiciary and publishes judgments from the Turks and Caicos Islands for free online access.
TCILII is a website of the Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Judicial Links
Recent Judgments
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Whether substituted service under s151(d) suffices and if private-treaty sale may proceed without a prior auction.
Registered Land Act – service of Section 72 notice – section 151(d) display and Gazette publication as substituted service – requirement to show impossibility of personal or registered-post service – variation under s77 to permit sale by private treaty – requirement of unsuccessful public auction where charge so provides.
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27 March 2026 |
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Court found a common-law relationship ending 1 March 2016; separation agreement did not revoke the deceased’s 2005 will.
Conflict of laws; family law – common-law partnership – existence and valuation date of separation (Molodowich factors) – effect of separation agreement on testamentary dispositions – necessity of specific language to revoke a will – rectification principles – probate laches in contentious probate
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27 March 2026 |
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Insufficiently specific Turnbull directions and inadequate warnings about CCTV comparison rendered the identification-based conviction unsafe.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Recognition from CCTV – Turnbull directions – Case-specific weaknesses – Jury comparison with CCTV images – Audio as contextual corroboration – No-case-to-answer (R v Galbraith)
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20 March 2026 |
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Seller converted a sold vehicle by disposing of it, giving the buyer a claim for damages despite title transfer.
Sale of goods — private sale — formation and passing of title; Road Traffic Act registration administrative only — not prerequisite to legal title; caveat emptor applies to private sales absent express warranties; involuntary bailment and conversion — seller's duty to act reasonably; measure of damages — value in unrepaired state.
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11 March 2026 |
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Appeal dismissed: conviction for keeping ammunition upheld; alleged inconsistencies, lack of testing, conspiracy and nondisclosure were not material.
Criminal law – keeping ammunition – sufficiency of possession evidence; credibility and materiality of witness inconsistencies; admissibility/necessity of testing cartridge contents; alleged conspiracy and compellability of witnesses; non‑disclosure of video evidence – materiality test.
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10 March 2026 |
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Late Crown disclosure did not justify a stay, but key spreadsheet/expert evidence was excluded for prejudicial late disclosure.
Criminal procedure — Disclosure obligations and production orders — Mid-trial disclosure and evidential evolution — Abuse of process (stay) — Exclusion of evidence as sanction under Rule 79(7) — Expert/spreadsheet evidence — Prejudice vs probative value.
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6 March 2026 |
| 27 February 2026 | |
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Arrest was lawful under police/common law powers; plaintiff entitled to damages only for unlawful detention from 8 to 10 August 2022.
Criminal and civil procedure – arrest without warrant – applicability of s22(3) of Domestic Violence Act; Police Force Act and common law power to arrest for breach of the peace; false imprisonment – burden to justify continued detention; use of force – taser allegations unpleaded; costs reduction for unjustified detention delay.
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27 February 2026 |
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A wholly successful defendant is ordinarily entitled to costs; issue-based apportionment and a stay of taxation were refused.
Civil procedure – costs – general rule that costs follow the event – issue-based costs orders – when discrete issues justify apportionment – dishonest assistance claim – interdependence of elements – equitable defences – stay of taxation pending appeal.
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19 February 2026 |
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Supreme Court dismissed enforcement application: Magistrate likely had jurisdiction, but Supreme Court lacks statutory power to enforce eviction orders.
Civil procedure; jurisdiction—Magistrate's jurisdiction to grant possession orders under Registered Land Act s.157; meaning of 'value of the subject matter' as leasehold interest; periodic tenancy valuation; Supreme Court lacks statutory power to enforce Magistrate possession orders.
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16 February 2026 |
Recent Legislation
| Practice Direction 1 of 2025 | 4 August 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 29 of 2022 | 5 May 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 15 of 2025 | 5 May 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 12 of 2023 | 5 May 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 16 of 2025 | 5 May 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 3 of 2025 | 7 February 2025 | |
| Legal Notice 61 of 2024 | 2 December 2024 | |
| Government Notice 51 of 2021 | 22 November 2024 | |
| Legal Notice 58 of 2024 | 22 November 2024 | |
| Practice Direction 1 of 2024 | 10 June 2024 |