In the case of a Warrant of Possession in a civil matter, this has a lifetime of six months, while a Warrant of Commitment expires one year after it has been issued.  A Bench Warrant, Warrant Disobedience of Summons and Warrants on Information has no time limit for execution.

A plaintiff may apply to the court for an extension of time for a Warrant of Possession to be executed, while after the expiration of one year on a Warrant of Commitment a further application will have to be made for a Commitment or Judgment Summons.

If a Parish Court Bailiff has refused to serve a summons or execute a warrant a report may be made to the Snr. Parish Court Judge who will act accordingly.

Provisions are made pursuant to the Parish Court Act for warrants to be sent from one court to another to be executed in the case of civil matters.  As it relates to criminal cases arrangements are made by the police to facilitate the execution of warrants between parishes based on intelligence.

Warrants issued by the court may be executed by the Parish Court Bailiff or a Police Officer.

A summon is valid up to at least three (3) days before a court date in small claims and criminal matters, while in some civil matters a summons is valid up to twelve days before a court date.

It is very important for an address to be provide in order to perfect the service of any summons. Without an address the summons is not effective.

The difference between a Warrant and a Summons is that summonses are served informing of a court date while warrants are executed.

The different types of summonses are as follows: -

(a)   Civil summons;

(b)  Criminal summons;

(c)   Juror summons;

(d)   Traffic summons; and

(e)   Maintenance summons

A warrant is a legal document issued by the court authorizing the police or the court bailiff to make an arrest or carry out search actions at a particular premises.

A summons is a legal document informing an accused person or defendant that they are being charged for an offence or sued and is required to appear in Court on a court date specified in the said summons.