Cayman Islands Grand Court Rules

The parties have an appeal in law against a “final” decision (e.g., a judgment at the end of a trial). Appeals against injunctions or injunctions are possible with the agreement of the General Court, which must first be requested from the judge of first instance of the High Court at the hearing of the application in question or by summons to appear within 14 days of the contested decision. The applicant must demonstrate the existence of pleas, whether on the basis of an error of law or fact or a mixture of factual and legal grounds. Most civil actions are initiated by the issuance of a brief by the plaintiff, with some actions initiated by a subpoena (in cases where the facts are unlikely to be challenged or where such proceedings are required by law). Insolvency proceedings shall be opened on request. It is the responsibility of the applicant (or applicant) to assist the other parties in the original proceedings once they have been issued by the court registry. Original documents are usually valid for four months from the date of issue (or six months if the document is to be served abroad and the court allows it). The original process usually has to be served personally by delivery to the hands of the individual. The original process can be carried out at a company in the Cayman Islands by delivery to its headquarters in the Cayman Islands. If a party cannot be found, the plaintiff may apply to the court for permission to serve the document in another way, for example through an advertisement in a local newspaper. Documents and other original proceedings and judgments may be consulted by the public.

Other court documents are generally not available to the public, but interested parties can apply to the court for permission to inspect court records. The Registrar of the Court may rule on such applications administratively, unless he considers that the case should be referred to a judge. The applicant must provide a brief justification for the request for inspection. In liquidation proceedings, the court file is open to certain classes of persons (including eligible creditors and shareholders), but not to the public. The Act regulates contingency fee agreements (the definition of which includes contingency fee agreements) and litigation financing agreements (PAs). The law defines the “procedures” to which it applies widely as such before a comparable court or tribunal or official and includes arbitration. Court proceedings and final hearings of petitions and subpoenas (i.e., most cases) are held in open session and are open to the public. If a trial or hearing is held by videoconference, which has become common due to Covid-19, the hearing will be broadcast live in a courtroom. Other hearings, including most applications for injunctions, interim measures and case management, are held in chambers, but the public may apply to the court for permission to participate or may participate by agreement of the parties. Courts are generally able to carry out their workload, and “sitting” judges can and often are appointed temporarily by the governor to ensure that a sufficient number of judges are available.

The most pressing issue in terms of court capacity is the lack of adequate and adequate courtrooms. The government recognizes that additional modern court facilities are needed and that a building has been purchased for this purpose, but it is not yet known when these facilities will be ready and usable. Costs must be paid either on a standard basis (the prevailing party bears the burden of proof that their costs were reasonable) or on the basis of compensation if the court is satisfied that the paying party conducted the proceedings (or the part thereof to which the costs decision relates) inappropriately, inappropriate or negligent. If compensation costs are awarded, the burden of proof is shifted to the paying party to prove that the costs were unreasonable. If standard fees are awarded, the Court Fees Regulation provides for upper limits on lawyers` hourly rates based on seniority and certain expenses. There are rules to prevent duplication of lawyers` work when foreign lawyers (usually Queen`s Counsel) are retained. Short fees and updates (daily lawyers` rates) are non-refundable, and lawyers` time must be given in time units. In the context of an appeal brought by application, the applicant must draw up a `statement of claim` setting out the facts on which his plea is based. This request can be confirmed on the application or filed in the form of a separate document (called a “brief”).

If the application is not granted in the application, the application must contain a brief statement containing sufficient information for the defendant to determine what the action consists of (so-called general approval). Once the application is served, the defendants have 14 days (or more if the application is served abroad) to file a confirmation of service at the court office. Once this has been done, if the claim with the claim has been served with the claim, the defendant has 14 days (or such other time agreed by the parties or ordered by the court) to file and serve a defense, which may include a counterclaim. The plaintiff has a period of time (again, 14 days or another time agreed by the parties or ordered by the court) to file and serve a response and counterclaim defense, if necessary. At that time, the pleadings are considered closed and the applicant must file a subpoena for instructions from the court within one month. The call for investigation is an opportunity for the parties to formulate a timetable for the rest of the action. You can accept or obtain instructions for document discovery, oral discoveries and interrogations (if applicable), exchange of testimony and expert opinions (if necessary), as well as a schedule for the preparation of trial documents, legal requests and other matters. Simple cases can be resolved in this way in a relatively short period of time (e.g., six to nine months), but complex cases, especially if they are multi-party and multi-jurisdictional, can take much longer. Cases that begin with a subpoena and motion are usually dealt with on the basis of an affidavit rather than oral evidence and can often be resolved more quickly. A key factor in the time it takes to close a case is the availability of hearing time, which may be limited. Such judgments are normally enforceable if they are given by a court having jurisdiction, both final and final, and are of a nature which the national court must enforce in accordance with Community principles. The rules regarding litigation funding in the Cayman Islands were revolutionized by the passage of the Private Financing of Legal Services Act, 2020 (the Act) and the Private Financing of Legal Services Regulations, 2021 (the Regulations).

Part 4 of the Act repeals any common law offence or offence relating to maintenance or champerty. The law also allows for the conclusion of litigation and contingency fee financing agreements without court approval and, most importantly, allows for the first time contingency fee agreements. The previous common law rules that we described in previous editions of this guide no longer apply. Important decisions of FSD will appear either in the Cayman Islands legal reports or on the Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Information website The website database provides access to reported cases and undeclared judgments, as well as laws, rules and practical instructions. Enforcement of pecuniary decisions under the jurisdiction may be achieved through the enforcement of property (a writ of fieri facias), seizure proceedings (for the recovery of amounts owed by third parties to the judicial debtor), the recovery of orders on immovable property or other property, such as shares in Cayman Islands companies (which lead to orders for the sale of property), the appointment of a receiver, the sequestration or seizure of income. Disobedience to a court order such as an injunction can result in a prison sentence. Liquidation or bankruptcy proceedings may also be initiated with a guilty verdict (and for other reasons). In this context, the Court of Appeal had to consider whether, following the introduction of the CWR, the cayman islands courts have inherent jurisdiction to order a foreign company to provide cost certainty in proceedings subject to those rules. The Law Reform Commission has proposed various amendments to the largely redundant Foreign Judgment Reciprocal Enforcement Act (which only applies to certain Australian courts) in order to put things on a sound legal basis and make the mutual recognition of foreign decisions more accessible. These have yet to resonate in the legal and financial services sector, and a 2014 bill to legislate for these changes has yet to be passed.

The Rules of Procedure Committee is established by article 19 of the Great Court Act. Overall, it is responsible for establishing rules of practice and procedure in the Grand Court and the Summary Court. The Committee is composed of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and two lawyers appointed by the Chief Justice after consultation with the Cayman Islands Bar Association. A wide range of interim remedies are available, including freezing orders, Norwich Pharmacal (disclosure) orders, and interim payment orders. Following a number of cases in 2015, the Grand Court Act and the Rules of the Grand Court were amended to provide that the tribunal may now grant interim measures in the absence of substantive proceedings in the Cayman Islands (autonomous legal protection) to facilitate the granting of interim measures in support of foreign proceedings. The main civilian court of first instance is the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the Grand Court), which is full-time with six to eight judges recruited by the Cayman Islands and other Commonwealth jurisdictions.