Virgin Islands Court Rules (2026)
We publish nine U.S. Virgin Islands rule sets with 653 rules. The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, created in 2004 and seated in 2007, has replaced the territory's borrowed rules with home-grown sets — the Rules of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure and Evidence all promulgated in 2017, so pre-2017 Virgin Islands procedure citations are usually wrong. Coverage also includes appellate procedure, the Rules Governing the Superior Court, small claims and habeas corpus, and the Rules of Professional Conduct at Supreme Court Rule 211 with the bar admission and disciplinary rules. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
Virgin Islands Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified September 24, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
Rules Governing the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands
The Rules Governing the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, as amended June 1, 2019 — a practice overlay covering court administration, motions, and appeals from the Magistrate Division in the 300-series. Most of the historic set has been superseded: the 2017 Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure took over general practice, the separate Small Claims Rules replaced Rules 61 through 69, and the probate rules of Part VIII, Rules 190 through 213, are repealed. Those rules are published here as the court leaves them, numbered and marked repealed.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure
The Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure, promulgated in 2017 and replacing the former practice of borrowing the Federal Rules and 5 V.I.C. procedure. Modeled on the Federal Rules and deliberately mirroring their numbering, with Virgin Islands adaptations and additional decimal-hyphen rules of local origin such as Rule 1-1 and Rule 6-1. An answer is due 21 days after service within the territory, 30 days if served outside it. Rules 92 through 96 supply the procedures of the Superior Court's Complex Litigation Division. Most rules carry the court's own Reporter's Note.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Virgin Islands Rules of Appellate Procedure, restated and amended effective March 1, 2017 by Promulgation Order 2017-004. They govern appeals to the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, which has heard all Superior Court appeals since January 29, 2007. A notice of appeal is due within 30 days, or 60 days where the Virgin Islands Government or the United States is a party, with interlocutory review by permission or writ. Since 2012 the only review beyond the territory is certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Supreme Court Rules: Bar Admission and Discipline
Supreme Court Rules 201 through 208, which govern the Virgin Islands Bar. The Supreme Court runs its own bar: Rule 201 covers pro hac vice admission, where no attorney or firm may appear in more than three causes in total; Rule 202 special admission; Rule 204 regular admission by examination, character and fitness; Rule 205 the integrated Virgin Islands Bar Association; and the Rule 207 series disciplinary enforcement, restructured effective January 1, 2015 to run from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel through a Preliminary Review Committee and the Board on Professional Responsibility to the Supreme Court.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure
The Virgin Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure, promulgated in 2017 for the Superior Court. Charging is by information signed by the Attorney General, with a complaint serving as the information that commences a misdemeanour prosecution; the rules contain no grand jury rule. Rule 5 governs the initial appearance and probable-cause review and requires arraignment within 10 days in custody or 20 days out of custody, and Rule 48(b) allows dismissal for unnecessary delay in place of a fixed speedy-trial clock. The set opens with its own table of contents and most rules carry a Reporter's Note.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Rules of Evidence
The Virgin Islands Rules of Evidence, adopted by Promulgation Order 2017-0002 and effective March 31, 2017, replacing the former evidence provisions of 5 V.I.C. chapter 67. Modeled on the Federal Rules of Evidence, with Rule 1103 making "V.I.R.E." the official short form. Rule 501 carries forward the statutory privileges of 5 V.I.C. chapter 67, subchapter V, and Rule 702 adopts the federal reliability test. Each rule ends with a SOURCE note giving its federal origin and the Virgin Islands decisions behind it.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Rules of Professional Conduct
The Virgin Islands Rules of Professional Conduct, established by Supreme Court Rule 211 and effective February 1, 2014, superseding the territory's prior direct adoption of the ABA Model Rules. They are numbered as subdivisions of Rule 211, so the candor rule is Rule 211.3.3 and is cited "V.I.S.Ct.R. 211.3.3". Coverage follows the Model Rules from the client-lawyer relationship through the lawyer as counsellor and advocate, dealings with others, law firms, public service, information about legal services, and the integrity of the profession.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Small Claims Rules
The Virgin Islands Small Claims Rules, governing the Superior Court's Small Claims Division, which hears claims up to $10,000 exclusive of interest and costs. Attorneys may not participate, by 4 V.I.C. § 112. Procedure is informal and form-based, and an appeal runs by notice within 14 days to a Superior Court judge under Superior Court Rule 322. These rules replaced the repealed Superior Court Rules 61 through 69.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirgin Islands Habeas Corpus Rules
The Virgin Islands Habeas Corpus Rules, governing petitions for the writ in the Superior Court alongside the statutory right at 5 V.I.C. chapter 91. Four rules cover application and definitions, the form and content of the petition and the grounds for relief, the proceedings that follow, and the court's disposition, each with an extensive Reporter's Note recording the case-law doctrines the rules implement.
Updated 2026 Edition
Browse