Belize

• The Constitution of 1981, the highest law
• Acts of the National Assembly, and English common law and equity
• Decisions of the Belizean courts and of the Caribbean Court of Justice

• The Caribbean Court of Justice, the final court of appeal
• The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
• Magistrates' Courts, including a Family Court

A law degree and a legal education certificate, then admission to the Belize Bar by the Supreme Court.

• It is a common-law country on the Central American mainland, surrounded by civil-law neighbours.
• Its courts have recognised that Maya communities hold customary rights to their land.
• English is the official language, but many people speak Spanish or Kriol at home.

Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, United Kingdom, Mexico

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Belize as: Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya.

• Caribbean Court of Justice
• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)
• Constitute Project: constitution of Belize

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.