''Boyce v R'' is a 2004
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
(JCPC) case which upheld the law that sets out a mandatory sentence of death for
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
in
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
.
Background
The JCPC held in some cases, the law that makes capital punishment mandatory for murder will violate the prohibition on "inhuman or degrading punishment" in the
Constitution of Barbados. (This principle is consistent with the 2002 JCPC cases of ''
Hughes'', ''
Fox'', and ''
Reyes''.) However, because (1) the Constitution of Barbados disallows itself to act to invalidate laws that existed prior to the enactment of the constitution, and (2) the law in question pre-dated the constitution, the mandatory death provisions of the law could not be invalidated and must be upheld.
In ''
Matthew v S
''Matthew v S'' is a 2004 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) case which upheld the law that sets out a mandatory sentence of death for murder in Trinidad and Tobago.
Background
In this case, the appellant was convicted of murder a ...
'', which was released on the same day, the JCPC applied the same principles to a similar law in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
.
See also
*
Judiciary of Barbados
*
Attorney General of Barbados
*
Supreme Court of Judicature (Barbados)
Notes
{{reflist
External links
''Boyce v R'' bailii.org
Boyce et al. v. Barbados - Inter-American Court of Human Rights Project Loyola Law School (Los Angeles) International and Comparative Law Review’s Inter-American Court of Human Rights Project database and journal.
2004 in United Kingdom case law
2004 in Barbados
Death penalty case law
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases on appeal from Barbados
Prisoners sentenced to death by Barbados
Murder in Barbados
Human rights in Barbados