ABSTRACT
In the study of law and legal systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean, perhaps the initial question to be asked is: what type of legal system is found in the region? However, it is first necessary to attempt to describe what we mean by the term ‘legal system’. The term can be used very simply to mean the sum of legal rules, legal institutions and machinery which operate within the particular country or jurisdiction. This definition is not necessarily limited to a geographical jurisdiction, for within any country’s legal system, there will be certain legal rules, such as rules of international law, which may originate from outside that country’s geographical area, but which should be viewed as being part of its legal system.
