CCJ DISMISSES APPEAL AGAINST REFUSAL OF BAIL

Port of Spain, Trinidad. In a judgment released today, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) dismissed Mr
Pedro Ellis’ appeal against the refusal of the courts in Barbados to grant him bail. The CCJ had granted
Ellis special leave to appeal since at the time it granted leave, he was still in detention and the Court was
mindful of the great delays in hearing Ellis’ applications for bail, as well as the overall delay in his trial of
the charge. However, Ellis was no longer in detention when his appeal would have been heard.
Ellis was charged on 8 May 2013 and his trial concluded on 25 October 2019 when he was acquitted of
murder with the jury failing to reach a verdict on manslaughter. Ellis was released from detention and has
since been a ‘free man’. The issues which had been raised for consideration by the CCJ had, therefore,
become merely academic and no exceptional circumstances arose warranting the Court to still hear the
appeal. In the circumstances, the Court dismissed the appeal.
The full judgment of the Court and a judgment summary are available on the Court’s website at
www.ccj.org.