BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Hall Taylor KC, Richard Brown, Tim Wright and Simon Hall, Carey Olsen
7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public The general rule in the BVI is that hearings are open to the public. In practice, most hearings are conduct- ed in chambers, where a non-party would normally need to obtain the court’s permission to attend. Trials, appeals and some insolvency applications are heard in open court, and generally open to the public. The court may also order that hearings be held in camera (ie, in private). The BVI courts follow the principle of open justice, and will only order that hearings be held in camera when there are issues of great sensitivity, confidentiality or privacy. In such rare circumstances, the court file may also be “sealed” to avoid inspection of any documents relating to the case by a third party, and may also anonymise the party names on the court list. It is very rare for a trial to be heard in camera. Hearings generally take place in private if they are concerned with: • the welfare of a minor or a person with a disability; • an application by a trustee or court-appointed officer relating to the administration of a trust, asset or estate; or • an arbitration. Further, the court may direct that any other hearing (or part of it) may take place in private if: • publicity would defeat the object of the hearing; • the hearing relates to matters of national security; • the hearing involves confidential information and publicity would damage that confidentiality; • an application made without notice is being heard; or • the court considers this to be necessary in the interests of justice. In theory, transcripts of hearings other than ex parte or private hearings are open to the public on the pay- ment of a fee; in practice, however, they are difficult to obtain and require the assistance of a BVI legal practitioner.
single judge. Case management hearings usually take place shortly after the filing of a defence, and deal with timetables and other directions relating to expert reports, witness statements and disclosure. In lengthy, complex proceedings, there is usually more than one case management conference, at which interim applications (such as security for costs) are heard along with consideration of timetables and directions. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Jury trials are not available in civil cases. A single judge in civil cases considers issues of fact and law at trial. Jury trials are only available in criminal cases. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The admission of evidence at trial is governed by the Evidence Act 2006, Parts 29–33 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and the common law. As noted in 5.5 Legal Privilege , legal privilege is rec- ognised in the BVI. Legally privileged documents are generally not admissible at trial. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted at trial, but a party can- not submit an expert report or call an expert witness without the court’s permission, usually given at the case management conference. Although appointed by a party, the duty of an expert is to assist the court objectively and impartially, and this overrides any obligation to the party by whom the expert is instructed. The court does not directly appoint experts, but does have oversight and management over the appoint- ment. The court may direct, when two or more par- ties wish to submit expert evidence, that evidence be given by a single expert. If the court wishes to seek expert testimony or guid- ance on a specific point, then it would usually indicate this to the parties and ask them to seek such evidence rather than seeking it directly.
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