December 2013

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the “Board”) is the highest court of appeal for cases from Bermuda to be heard. When a case has reached the Privy Council, the issues to be considered by the Board are typically on points of law. On 8 October 2013, the Board handed down a judgment which will invariably affect all sentences which relate to murder in Bermuda: Selassie (Appellant) and Pearman (Appellant) v The Queen (Respondent) [2013] UK PC 29 (77 KB PDF).

Agathe Holowatinc
The One Bermuda Alliance Government has promised to continue to make revitalisation of the Bermuda economy its primary focus as it enters its second year in power. The promise featured prominently in Government’s Throne Speech (777 KB PDF) which marked the beginning of a new session of the Bermuda Legislature, and in which the one year old Government set out its plans for the forthcoming parliamentary year that began in early November.

Jessica Kemmenoe

The 2012 Supreme Court decision in the case of Moyes & Co (UK) Limited v Northern Gulf Petroleum Holdings Limited [2012] Bda LR 77 (290 KB PDF), clarifies the Bermuda Court’s approach when considering an application to have a claim struck out.

In this case, the Defendant attempted to have the action struck out pursuant to the Rules of the Supreme Court Order 18, Rule 19 Grounds (a) and (d), which states that the Court may strike out an action on the ground that—

(a) it discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence … or
(d) it is otherwise an abuse of the process of the court …