CAYMAN ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Lee, Sophia Scott, Kimberly Robinson and James Turner, Maples Group
MAPLES GROUP PO Box 309 Ugland House Grand Cayman KY1 1104 Tel: +1 345 949 8066 Email: info@maples.com Web: www.maples.com
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order The Cayman Islands is a common law jurisdic - tion, which is based on the English model. It comprises statute law and binding case prec - edents. English and British Commonwealth case authorities are generally persuasive, but not binding, on the Cayman Islands courts. Cayman Islands law is derived from several sources: • primary legislation – ie, local statutes passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands or its predecessors, and approved by the Governor of the Cayman Islands; for example, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”) and the Private Funds Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands; • secondary legislation – ie, legislation enacted pursuant to local statutes; examples include the Companies Winding-Up Rules (2023 Con - solidation) and the Private Funds Regulations (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands; • statutes passed by the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament that have been expressly extend - ed to the Cayman Islands;
• Orders of His Majesty’s Privy Council that are applicable to the Cayman Islands; and • any relevant remaining English and British Commonwealth common law and rules of equity established by settlement not having been replaced by local or UK statute. The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Grand Court”) is the superior court of record of first instance for the Cayman Islands. The case - load of the Grand Court is divided into five divi - sions: Civil, Family, Admiralty, Financial Services and Criminal. Appeals from the Grand Court are to the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal (which usually sits three times annually). The final court of appeal is the Privy Council in England.
2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments
2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments Foreign Investments in the Cayman Islands Local operating business Approval from the Cayman Islands authorities may be required if foreign investors are invest - ing in a Cayman Islands company that conducts local business (ie, with businesses and individ - uals located in the Cayman Islands) (a “Local
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