BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: John F. Wilson KC and Adrienne N. Bellot, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes
The following types of injunctions are available: • mandatory injunctions; • prohibitory injunctions; • interim injunctions; and • final injunctions. Recently, the Supreme Court decided that free- standing injunctions (injunctions where there are no substantive proceedings in the context of which the injunction is sought) can be awarded. Injunctions to prevent parallel proceedings in another jurisdiction are available. An action must be commenced for this purpose. They are usu- ally brought on the ground that the appropriate forum for the proceedings is The Bahamas. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief In urgent circumstances, injunctions can be obtained within two to three days. There are no arrangements that can be made for out-of-hours judges, nor are there any similar procedures available. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis In urgent circumstances, it is possible to obtain ex parte injunctive relief without notice to the respondent. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant The applicant can be held liable for damages suffered by the respondent if the respondent suf- fers damages as a result of the injunction when the injunction was wrongly obtained. Ordinar- ily, before granting the injunction, the court will require the applicant to give an undertaking in damages for this reason. The need for an under- taking in damages is enhanced where the injunc-
tion is sought ex parte. In certain circumstances, the court can request that the undertaking be collateralised – ie, that security be provided. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief can be granted against world- wide assets of the respondent. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief The court has jurisdiction (pursuant to TSB International v Chabra [1992] 2 All ER 245) to grant a freezing injunction against a third party against whom the claimant asserts no cause of action provided that the injunction is ancillary and incidental to a claim in respect of a defend- ant against whom the claimant does assert a cause of action. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance If the respondent fails to comply with the terms of an injunction, they can be held in contempt of court, whereby the party will be penalised for failing to comply with the court order. Trials take place in person. They involve oral arguments and witness expert examination at a physical hearing. 7.2 Case Management Hearings In case management conferences and short interlocutory hearings, the courts continue to utilise remote video platforms, which were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. In respect of more complex applications and trials, the court will set a pre-trial review to give direc- tions to bring the matter on for hearing or trial. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
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