GIBRALTAR Law and Practice Contributed by: Emma Lejeune, Stuart Dalmedo, Adrian Pilcher, Nicholas Isola, Danielle Victor, James Castle, Louise Anne Turnock and Danielle Curtis, ISOLAS LLP
jurisdiction. Together with the Crimes Act 2011, these acts brought about significant changes to the crimi - nal justice system in Gibraltar, effectively creating a modern criminal code for Gibraltar. From a business perspective, corporate manslaughter prosecutions are also possible, with extension of this offence beyond corporations to the police, trade unions, partnerships and employers’ associations. All criminal proceedings commence in the Magis - trates’ Court, with the more serious (indictable) offenc - es being sent to the Supreme Court, either for jury trial or sentencing. Lawyers Most lawyers are England and Wales-qualified barris - ters or solicitors, with a minority of European lawyers. Qualification for call to the Bar in Gibraltar is via a separate procedure to qualification in the UK, and it is possible for UK-qualified solicitors to be called to the Gibraltar Bar. There is a practical training requirement before admission to the Gibraltar Bar, consisting of a period of 12 months’ employment at an approved establishment, together with an approved academic course in Gibraltar law. In certain cases, the Chief Justice may waive one or more of these requirements – for example, when an English barrister is instructed to act as an advocate on a particular case or cases. Gibraltar enjoys what is termed a “fused profession”, whereby both barristers and solicitors called to the Gibraltar Bar enjoy rights of audience in every court, and barristers can be “acting solicitors”. This results in practitioners with a diverse skill set who are all client- facing and able to conduct litigation or non-conten - tious work without restriction. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) regu - lates the legal services industry in Gibraltar. 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments In Gibraltar, there is no distinction between foreign and domestic investment. In general, there are no restric - tions on foreign or domestic shareholders. However, certain financial services, gaming and telecommuni -
cations businesses do require pre-authorisation from a regulator regarding their shareholders to ensure that the shareholders are reputable persons and meet applicable fitness and proprietary requirements. 2.2 Procedure to Obtain Approval and Sanctions for Non-Compliance Generally, an application would have to be made to the relevant regulator (for example, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission in relation to a finan - cial services business) as part of the wider applica - tion for the issuance of a licence in connection with the proposed activities. This sets out the details of the proposed shareholder, source of wealth, details regarding the fitness and proprietary requirements of the individual (for example, whether the individual has ever been declared bankrupt) and details regarding the beneficial interest held. Failure to notify a regulator of any changes in share - holders, or obtain the pre-approval of a shareholder, could result in regulatory sanctions and revocation of the relevant licence. 2.3 Commitments Required From Foreign Investors Generally, authorities do not condition their approval to certain commitments (although this may vary depend - ing on the activities of the proposed investment), but individuals must notify the regulator should there be any material changes to the information provided in the initial application for approval. 2.4 Right to Appeal The existence and framework of a right to appeal depend entirely on the specific regulatory function and sector involved. However, this will depend on the circumstances on a case-by-case basis as there may be situations where, in certain circumstances, there is some element of recourse. For example, under Sec - tion 615 of the Financial Services Act 2019, certain persons aggrieved by a formal decision notice issued by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission has a statutory right to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar.
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