Source: http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Dominica
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 03:51:50+00:00

Document:
U.S. Dept. of State, Background Note: Dominica, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2295.htm, Jul. 23, 2010.
 Thomson Fontaine, A Call to Remove the Death Penalty in Dominica, TheDominican.net, http://thedominican.net/2009/02/call-to-remove-death-penalty-in.html, Feb. 18, 2009; Amnesty Intl., Death Sentences and Executions in 2009, ACT 50/001/2010, Mar. 30, 2010.
 Dominica Treason Act No. 2 of 1984, art. 2, Laws of Dominica Ch. 10:01, L.R.O. 1991.
 Amnesty Intl., Death Penalty in the English-Speaking Caribbean: a Human Rights Issue, p. 32, n. 5, AMR 05/001/2012, Nov. 30, 2012.
 Thomson Fontaine, A Call to Remove the Death Penalty in Dominica, TheDominican.net, http://thedominican.net/2009/02/call-to-remove-death-penalty-in.html, Feb. 18, 2009.
It is unlikely that the mandatory death penalty could be applied for any crime in Dominica.
While we did not find a statutory exception, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court’s jurisprudence requires a consideration of mental state or defect for determining guilt and for determining the appropriate sentence.
 Dominica Offences Against the Person Act No. 7 of 1873, art. 2, Laws of Dominica Ch. 10:31, L.R.O. 1995.
 Balson v. State, paras. 40-46, Appeal No. 26 of 2004, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Feb. 2, 2005; Queen v. Hughes, Appeal No. 91 of 2001, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Mar. 11, 2002; upholding Spence & Hughes v. Queen, Criminal Appeals No. 20 of 1998 & No. 14 of 1997, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Apr. 2, 2001.
 Dominica Treason Act No. 2 of 1984, Laws of Dominica Ch. 10:01, L.R.O. 1991.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order Act No. 1027 of 1978, arts. 2, 5, 16, 17, 104-106, schedule 2, amended by Act No. 22 of 1984; Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Order No. 10 of 1969, Laws of Dominica Ch. 4:02, L.R.O. 1991.
 Balson v. State, paras. 40-46, Appeal No. 26 of 2004, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Feb. 2, 2005; Queen v. Hughes, para. 27, 38-53, Appeal No. 91 of 2001, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Mar. 11, 2002; Spence & Hughes v. Queen, Criminal Appeals No. 20 of 1998 & No. 14 of 1997, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Apr. 2, 2001.
 Wilson v. Queen, para. 17, Criminal Appeal No. 30 of 2004, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Nov. 28, 2005.
 Trimmingham v. Queen, Criminal Appeal No. 32 of 2004, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Oct. 13, 2005 (a cutlass slaying for financial gain was deemed an exceptional offense where only the death penalty would suffice); overturned by Trimmingham v. Queen, para. 21, 23, Appeal No. 67 of 2007, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jun. 22, 2009 (finding that the murder was not the “sadistic” sort that could merit the death penalty). The JCPC, as this illustrates, might come to a different factual conclusion in reinforcing the applicable standard—but the ECSC recognizes the same standard, as a review of that court’s analysis will demonstrate.
 Balson v. State, paras. 40-46, Appeal No. 26 of 2004, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Feb. 2, 2005; Queen v. Hughes, Appeal No. 91 of 2001, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Mar. 11, 2002; Spence & Hughes v. Queen, Criminal Appeals No. 20 of 1998 & No. 14 of 1997, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Apr. 2, 2001.
 Laws of Dominica, Offences Against the Person Act No. 7 of 1873, art. (3)(1)(b), Laws of Dominica Ch. 10:31, L.R.O. 1995.
 Status, Declarations, Reservations, Denunciations, Withdrawals, B-32: Amer. Conv. on Human Rights, Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica, Nov. 22, 1969, http://cidh.oas.org/basicos/english/basic4.amer.conv.ratif.htm, last accessed Jul. 8, 2010.
 Laws of Dominica, Offences Against the Person Act No. 7 of 1873, art. (3)(1)(c), Laws of Dominica Ch. 10:31, L.R.O. 1995.
 Moise v. Queen, para. 37-39, Criminal Appeal No. 8 of 2003, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Jul. 15, 2005 (ruling for St. Lucia, a closely related jurisdiction that would apply common rules for mens rea and for determining culpability).
 Status, Declarations, Reservations, Denunciations, Withdrawals, A-53: Prot. to the Amer. Conv. on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty, Jun. 8, 1990, http://cidh.oas.org/basicos/english/basic8.death%20penalty%20ratif.htm, last accessed Jul. 8, 2010.
No, although the situation on a moratorium is unclear. While Dominica has commuted all death sentences, which would seem to indicate a moratorium on executions, it also asserts it must retain the death penalty in its law  and has signed the Note Verbale of disassociation from the U.N. resolution on the moratorium on the death penalty,  and we have found no reports of an official moratorium.
Decisions of the Eastern Caribbean High Court and Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeals are available at http://www.eccourts.org/.
Decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are available at http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page31.asp.
According to the Constitution and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Order, the High Court division of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has original jurisdiction all cases. Appeal lies to the Court of Appeals division of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court; appeals beyond these domestic regional courts lie to the Commonwealth court of appeal, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. These appeals may be as of right or by leave of the higher court as defined by the Constitution and law.  Currently, Dominica does not recognize the jurisdiction of the American Court of Human Rights.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order No. 1027 of 1978, art. 2(1), amended by Act No. 22 of 1984.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order No. 1027 of 1978, arts. 32(1)(d) & 35(3)(f), 73-75, amended by Act No. 22 of 1984.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order No. 1027 of 1978, arts. 16, 42, 104-106, amended by Act No. 22 of 1984; Dominica Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Order No. 10 of 1960, Laws of Dominica Ch. 4:02, L.R.O. 1991.
 Pratt & Morgan v. Attorney General of Jamaica, p. 26-27, Appeal No. 10 of 1993, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1993; Attorney General v. Boyce, paras. 49, 66, Appeal No. CV 2 of 2005, Caribbean Court of Justice, Jun. 21, 2006.
 Attorney General v. Boyce, paras. 15, 47, 117, 126, 131, 138-139, Appeal No. CV 2 of 2005, Caribbean Court of Justice, Jun. 21, 2006.
 Caribbean Court of Justice, About the Caribbean Court of Justice, http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/about2.htm, 2003; Caribbean Court of Justice, http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/default.htm, 2003.
 Trimmingham v. Queen, Criminal Appeal No. 32 of 2004, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Oct. 13, 2005; overturned by Trimmingham v. Queen, para. 23, Appeal No. 67 of 2007, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jun. 22, 2009.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Dominica, paras. 1, 33, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/12, Jan. 4, 2010.
 Wilson v. Queen, Criminal Appeal No. 30 of 2004, para. 17, ECSC Ct. of Appeal, Nov. 28, 2005.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order, No. 1027 of 1978, arts. 73-75, amended by Act No. 22 of 1984.
 Criminal Law and Procedure Act of 1873, arts. 62, 68, Laws of Dominica Ch. 12:01, 1995.
 U.S. State Department, 2009 Human Rights Report: Dominica, Denial of Fair Public Trial, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/wha/136109.htm, Mar. 11, 2010.
 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica Order No. 1027 of 1978, arts. 16, 42, 104-106, , amended by Act No. 22 of 1984; Dominica Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Order No. 10 of 1969, Laws of Dominica Ch. 4:02, L.R.O. 1991.
 About the Caribbean Court of Justice, http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/about.htm , last accessed Apr. 10, 2010.
On December 7, 2009, Dominica’s delegation to the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of human rights in Dominica reported that all death sentences had been commuted in Dominica.  We have found no reports of death sentences since that date.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Dominica, para. 1, 33, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/12, Jan. 4, 2010.
 U.S. Dept. of State, 2009 Human Rights Report: Dominica, Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/wha/136109.htm, Mar. 10, 2010; UN Human Rights Council, National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 15(a) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1: Dominica, para. 52, A/HRC/WG.6/6/DMA/1, Dec. 3, 2009.
 U.S. State Department, 2009 Human Rights Report: Dominica, Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/wha/136109.htm, Mar 11, 2010.
 , Criminal Law and Procedure Act No. 3 of 1873, art. 63, Laws of Dominica Ch. 12:01, L.R.O. 1995.
 Dominica Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Order No. 10 of 1969, art. 51, Laws of Dominica Ch. 4:02, L.R.O. 1991.
Although Dominica is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee has issued no Concluding Observations pursuant to periodic review of human rights in Dominica. See http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/LACRegion/Pages/DMIndex.aspx for available UN documents.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Dominica, para. 70(36), U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/12, Jan. 4, 2010.
Dominica is experiencing an increase in violent crime incidents despite suffering far less from increasing violent crime than does most of the Caribbean community.  Voices within Dominica include outspoken secular and religious critics of the death penalty;  however, officials believe that although the unofficial moratorium on executions is likely to continue, it is politically impractical to abolish the death penalty at this time.  In critiquing wealthier nations for pressuring Dominica to abolish the death penalty completely, the Prime Minister has not engaged in a wholesale defense of the death penalty. Instead, he has noted that Dominica will not eliminate the death penalty for murder and treason because Dominica is not as well-positioned to eliminate the death penalty. Amid his general call for judges to award harsher sentences for violent crime, he referred to examples of the most atrocious aggravated murders as those that would justify the death penalty.  While abolishment of the death penalty in Dominica is a sensitive issue, it is unlikely that Dominicans support an expansive death penalty.
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Dominica, para. 33, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/12, Jan. 4, 2010.
 Thomson Fontaine, A Call to Remove the Death Penalty in Dominica, TheDominican.net, Feb. 18, 2009, http://thedominican.net/2009/02/call-to-remove-death-penalty-in.html (last visited Mar. 27, 2010).
 U.N.G.A., Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Dominica, para. 33, 67, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/12, Jan. 4, 2010.
 PM Says No to Removal of Death Penalty, TheDominican.net, http://www.thedominican.net/articles/newsdesk30.htm, Feb. 2, 2009.

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