Bermuda Case Law & Legislation

20 Aug 2015

Cynthia Williams
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”) held an informational session on the 24th of July, 2014 regarding the licensing of a CSP. Ms. Tamara Anfossi of the BMA announced that the CSP regime commencement date is pending amendments to the Exchange Control Act 1972 (“Foreign Exchange”). It is anticipated that the amendments to Foreign Exchange will be passed by Parliament prior to January, 2016.
19:40 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Company & Commercial Law
02 Jul 2015

Jennifer Haworth
In May of this year, the Attorney General introduced two Bills in the House of Assembly that contained several measures aimed at reforming Bermuda’s criminal law, with the goal of enhancing efficiency. The Disclosure and Criminal Reform Act 2015 (the “Reform Bill”) and The Criminal Jurisdiction and Procedure Act 2015 (the “Procedure Bill”) (together the “Bills”) were passed by the House of Assembly on 5 June 2015. They remain to be debated in the Senate.
16:19 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
27 Apr 2015

Fozeia Rana-Fahy
- In an anonymised ruling of December 2014, In the Matter of the Estate of PQR, Deceased [2014] Bda No. 205, Chief Justice Kawaley analysed the legality of a forfeiture clause within a Bermuda will. The point of construction was one that had not been determined as a matter of Bermuda law and turned on the divergence between commonwealth case law (more hostile to the validity of forfeiture clauses) and English case law (less hostile to the notion of seeking to give reasonable effect to forfeiture clauses).
19:33 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Wills, Trusts & Estates
27 Apr 2015

Agathe Holowatinc
- I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mrs. Gitanjali Gutierrez in my office at MJM last week for a one-on-one interview about her background, role as Bermuda’s first Information Commissioner, and the Public Access to Information (PATI) Act implementation. A fascinating woman, she spoke passionately about her new role and the way PATI is changing the way things are done in Bermuda. Here’s what she had to say...
19:28 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government
23 Apr 2015

The recent sitting of Senate has seen significant legislative amendments introduced. One amendment in particular that has caused great discussion is that of the property rights now afforded to Permanent Residence Certificate Holders (“PRC Holders”). For clarification, a PRC holder is one who has obtained a Permanent Resident’s Certificate by the Minister under section 31A or 31B under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 (the “Act”).
16:20 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government
23 Apr 2015

On 22 December 2014, counsel for the Corporation of Hamilton (the “Corporation”) initiated proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of certain amended sections of the Municipalities Act 1923 (the “Act”) (the “Proceedings”). On 26 January 2015, the Minister of Home Affairs (the “Minister”) exercised his right under section 7B(6) of the Act and provided notice to the Corporation that he intended to assume temporary stewardship of it (the “Stewardship”).
15:54 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government
09 Apr 2015

Agathe Holowatinc
- In Canada, the Access to Information Act provides the public the right of access to information under the control of a federal government institution. In the USA, the Freedom of Information Act allows for the disclosure of documents controlled by the United States government to the public. In the UK, the Freedom of Information Act gives the public the right to obtain access to information held by public authorities. In the Cayman Islands, these rights fall under the Freedom of Information Law. In Jamaica, the relevant legislation is the Access to Information Act. In Trinidad and Tobago, it’s the Freedom of Information Act.
20:21 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government
03 Dec 2014

Fozeia Rana-Fahy
2014 also saw the introduction of the Trustee (Special Provisions) Amendment Act 2014 (the “Act”) which provides statutory clarity and certainty with respect to the powers settlors can reserve or grant over a trust without calling into question the validity of the trust structure. The powers enshrined in this legislation are expected to attract a wide class of settlors from both North America and Europe and further enhance Bermuda’s reputation as the offshore jurisdiction of choice for trusts. The Act amends the Trusts (Special Provision) Act 1989 by inserting a new section 2A which sets out an express list of certain interests and powers that can be retained by a settlor or granted to a third party, including the following:
15:17 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation