The Committee and Jurisdiction

When the British Empire became the Commonwealth of Nations, many member countries chose to retain their legal links with the United Kingdom. Where the JCPC holds jurisdiction, it is regarded as the final court of appeal for many Commonwealth countries, as well as the United Kingdom’s overseas territories, crown dependencies, and military sovereign base areas.

Jurisdiction map PDF

The JCPC can hear every kind of case: international, constitutional, civil or criminal. Over the years, rulings have been made in different kinds of law from many countries, including Roman Dutch law from South Africa, pre-revolutionary French law from Quebec, and Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu law from India.

As part of its role, the JCPC is able to invite Justices from across its jurisdiction to sit as part of the panel, sharing expertise, building connections and working to develop a global judiciary to underpin the rule of law.