ABSTRACT
On an abuse of process application the court is asked to refuse to proceed with the case permanently and it may make such an order, effectively blocking any further criminal proceedings in the matter. It has been said that since early times, every court has had the inherent power to stay criminal proceedings on the basis that they are oppressive and constitute an abuse of its process. The power of the court to stop a prosecution for abuse of its process arises in two categories of cases. They are: where it will be impossible to give the accused a fair trial; and where it offends the court’s sense of justice and propriety to be asked to try the accused in the particular circumstances of the case. Delay has been the most oft-cited ground in the Commonwealth Caribbean when asking the courts to invoke its power to stay proceedings for abuse of process.
