BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Andrew Emery and Mary-Frances Morris, Emery Cooke
Post-Trial Once judgment is handed down (again the length of time that takes will depend on the judge and the complexity of the evidence/issues he or she is being asked to decide), the matter of appeal will be dealt with along with costs and enforcement. If a complex long-running trial is appealed, it can be over a year before the matter gets to appeal (sometimes longer). 2.5 Confidentiality Court proceedings in the BVI are generally public with the following exceptions. • Where matters are confidential in nature and an application has been made to “seal the file” and have the matter heard in private. The court has discretion to allow such an application. • The court can have certain parts of a hearing heard in private or “on camera” if minors are involved or confidential matters need to be discussed. • If matters involve information that has been dis- closed in an arbitration. For all of the above, a separate application would need to be made to the court (which can be opposed) asking the court’s permission to restrict or ban any public attendance or public filings of documents. 2.6 Interim Relief Interim relief is commonplace in the BVI and regularly applied for. The jurisdiction is known as an “interlocu- tory application” jurisdiction. In the right circumstanc- es, interim relief can be made on an ex parte basis (without notice) in appropriate circumstances. Interim relief applications are covered by EC CPR 17 and sup- ported by a large body of case law. Interim remedies that may be applied for include: • Freezing injunctions; • Anti-suit injunctions; • Prohibitory injunctions; and • Proprietary injunctions. 2.7 Final Relief The types of final relief available are common to other common law jurisdictions.
• claims for a specified sum of money; • personal injury claims and motor car accidents;
• defamation claims; and • administrative actions.
Where a claim is not covered by one of the foregoing protocols, the court will still expect the parties to act in a reasonable manner in any pre-action correspond- ence. There can be cost consequences for those par- ties that are deemed to have acted unreasonably or in breach of any relevant protocol. 2.4 Stages of Court Proceedings Proceedings in the BVI follow a structured process as set out in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Rules. Pre-Action Stage See 2.3 Pre-Action Conduct . Issuing Proceedings Depending on the type of claim, the Claimant files a Part 8 Claim Form or a Fixed Date Claim Form. If a Part 8 Claim Form is filed, a supporting Statement of Claim must also be filed, along with a supporting affidavit and evidence if required. Fixed Date Claim Forms are intended to have a “fixed date” set at the time of issue for the first hearing of the claim. Case Management Conference The court may hold a Case Management Conference to set a timetable for discovery and the exchange of evidence and general trial preparation. Pre-Trial Hearing A further hearing may take place in order to ensure the matter is ready for trial. Trial The trial then takes place. The length of the trial is dictated by how many parties there are to proceed- ings and the amount of evidence the court needs to be taken through. Trials can be anything from half a day to a couple of days to several weeks or months. How complex the point at hand is also dictates the length of time needed.
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