CAYMAN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarah Humpleby, Alexandra Franklin, Peter Kendall and Sam Hall, Walkers
See 2.6.6 Domestic Courts’ Recognition of Foreign Judgments/Awards regarding foreign judgments. 2.6.8 Limitations on Lessors’ Actions Following Termination Penal rates of interest may be unenforceable under English common-law principles (those common-law principles having persuasive, if not binding, effect in the Cayman Court). 2.6.9 Lessor’s Requirement to Pay Taxes/Fees See 1.1.1 Taxes/Duties Payable Upon Execution of the Sales Agreement with respect to taxes. If an aircraft registered on the Aircraft Register is to be deregistered, the aircraft account with the CAACI will need to be settled, and there may also be unpaid charges payable to the CIAA. These charges would depend on the specific facts and circumstances at the time. With respect to fees, it is not possible to estimate the cost of proceedings in the Cayman Court to enforce a lease for a hypothetical case where the relevant facts are not known. 2.6.10 Mandatory Notice Periods The procedure for the termination of a lease is a mat - ter to be determined by the terms agreed between the parties to that lease. 2.6.11 Lessees’ Entitlement to Claim Immunity Whether the lessee is entitled to claim any immunity from suit, execution, attachment or other legal pro - cess will depend on its actual identity. If the lessee is a sovereign body or other government organ (whether autonomous or quasi-autonomous), the lessee may be able to claim sovereign immunity. 2.6.12 Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Decisions The Cayman Court will recognise and enforce an arbi - tral decision. The Arbitration Act (as amended) pro - vides the regime for enforcement of domestic awards, non-convention* awards and interim measures. * See the Foreign Arbitral Awards Enforcement Act (1997) in respect of the enforcement of “New York Convention” awards.
2.6.13 Other Relevant Issues There are no other relevant issues in the Cayman Islands of which a lessor should be aware in relation to the enforcement of its rights. 2.7 Lease Assignment/Novation 2.7.1 Recognition of the Concepts of Contractual Assignment and Novation Cayman Islands law recognises the concepts of nova - tion and contractual assignment. 2.7.2 Assignment/Novation of Leases Under Foreign Laws The consent of the continuing party (whether that is the lessee or otherwise) would typically be required. The courts of the Cayman Islands will recognise and enforce an agreement in accordance with its terms, on the assumption that: • the assignment and assumption or novation agree - ment is in a customary form and on customary market terms for an assignment and assumption or novation of an aircraft lease governed by English or New York law and is itself governed by the same law; and • the agreement has been duly executed and deliv - ered and, as a matter of the laws of all relevant jurisdictions, constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligations of each of the parties thereto, enforceable in accordance with its terms and effec - tive to achieve the intended novation. 2.7.3 Enforceability of Lease Assignments/ Novations There is no formal legal requirement under Cayman Islands law that a lease assignment and assumption/ novation agreement must be translated, certified, notarised or legalised to be valid and enforceable. 2.7.4 Filing/Registration of Lease Assignments/ Novations The original lease should have been submitted to the CAACI at the time of registration of the aircraft if the registered owner is a “charterer by demise”, and any assignment and assumption or novation of the lease that results in a change to this information must be
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