Dominica enjoys an independent judiciary with its highest court being the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
At the lowest rung of the judiciary is the Magistrate Court which deals with minor civil and criminal matters. There is the High Court which handles serious civil and criminal cases.
Appeals from both the High Court and the Magistrate Court go to the Court of Appeal. Dominica shares a Court of Appeal with other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
That court is a circuit court which sits in each island two or three times a year.
Appeals from the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Dominica has an English common law legal system and most of its statute law is based on United Kingdom precedents. There are about 50 practicing lawyers in Dominica.
Dominica is a democratic country which has enjoyed universal adult sufferage since the 1950’s.
It follows the Westminster model of Government. Elections are held every five years to elect twenty-one (21) members of Parliament. Nine (9) senators are then appointed and together they sit in a unicameral legislature.
The Head of State is a President who is elected by Parliament and holds office for a term of five years, his role is essentially ceremonial.
The current Prime Minister is the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit.
The President is His Excellency Mr. Charles Savrin.
There are three (3) main political parties in Dominica. They are the United Workers Party, the Dominica Freedom Party and the Dominica Labour Party. The Labour Party forms the present government.