Suriname - Judicial system

The Constitution provides the right to a fair public trial before a single judge, the right to counsel, and the right to appeal. There is a Supreme Court, whose six members are nominated for life, and there are three Cantonal Courts. On 9 June 2003, Caribbean leaders met in Kingston, Jamaica, to ratify a treaty to establish the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The first session of the CCJ was scheduled for November 2003. Eight nations—Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago—officially approved the CCJ, although 14 nations were planning to use the court for appeals.

Military personnel fall under military jurisdiction and are generally not subject to civilian criminal law. Military courts follow the same procedural rules as do the civil courts with military trials held before a judge and two military personnel.

The 1987 constitution calls for the establishment of an independent constitutional court. However, as of 2002, this body had not yet been established by the government.