Category Archives: Client Advisories

The Cayman Islands Government has announced that the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Law, 2020 (the “VASP Law”) will come into force in two phases.

Phase one, commencing on 31 October 2020, will focus on anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) compliance, supervision and enforcement.

Phase two, which will include licensing requirements and prudential supervision, is expected to come into force in June 2021.

The CICA’s judgment will be of interest to users of arbitration, particularly those who may wish to seek the enforcement of an award made in a civil jurisdiction in a common law jurisdiction.

The Duomatic principle concerns shareholders’ informal approval of a company’s actions.  Provided that the shareholders’ approval is unanimous and given with full knowledge of what they are approving, their informal assent to a course of action, whether given prospectively or retrospectively, will be as binding as a resolution passed at a general meeting.

In its long-awaited judgment in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd [2020] UKSC 31, the UK Supreme Court has clarified the rule barring the recovery of reflective loss, which is likely to be of importance in most common law jurisdictions. The Court has narrowed the application of the rule to shareholders seeking to recover loss suffered in their capacity as shareholder.

Dealing with shares in a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) following the death of the sole shareholder can be a complicated, costly and time consuming processes. To alleviate the difficulties that can arise, you or your client, may wish to consider making a BVI Will.

We summarise below the process by which shares in a BVI Company can transfer following the death of the sole shareholder.

This article discusses a decision handed down by the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal earlier this year, clarifying the purpose and effect of section 99 of the Companies Law (the “Law”) and the principles to be applied in granting validation orders in an important decision.

In a significant judgment delivered on 23 April 2020, the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against a 2019 decision of the Grand Court to stay a ‘just and equitable’ winding up petition on the grounds that the subject-matter of the dispute must be referred to arbitration.

Further to a recent decision by the Court of Appeal, the BVI Court now has no jurisdiction to grant free standing freezing injunctions against a BVI company.

This article considers whether Calderbank offers are, in Cayman practice, an effective means of encouraging parties to resolve their disputes and posits that the time has come to introduce a more robust and predictable costs procedure to operate in tandem with Calderbank offers.

This advisory discusses Palladyne International Asset Management B.V. v Upper Brook (A) Limited and others, where an application was made by Palladyne for leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.