In a 2016 decision, the Supreme Court of The Bahamas determined that a creditor need not undertake efforts to enforce an arbitration award in The Bahamas before sending a statutory demand to evidence insolvency. The court found In the Matter of BHP International Markets Limited 2016/COM/bnk/0038 ...
Blog Posts
How the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Impacts The Bahamas
As a result of a United States law and a subsequent agreement between the United States and The Bahamas, financial institutions in The Bahamas need to report certain information about accounts held by U.S. citizens to the United States. The U.S. law, called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ...
Investment Fund Administrators in the Bahamas
In The Bahamas, most types of investment funds need investment fund administrators to oversee them. These administrators are licensed by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas to conduct business and must meet certain requirements to keep their licences. Depending on the type of licence obtaine...
Can Our Trust Administration Dispute Be Decided Outside the Bahamian Courts?
If you are involved in a dispute over trust administration, you should look to the terms of the trust deed to determine which court can hear the dispute. Often, the trust will specify which country's laws apply. Sometimes, the trust deed may specify a venue in which the dispute should be heard. W...
Bahamian Bankruptcy Basics
Being “bankrupt” means that you cannot pay your debts or meet your obligations. In The Bahamas, bankruptcy laws apply only to individual debtors (people, not businesses); companies that cannot pay their debts must use the insolvency laws to wind up. As to individual bankruptcy, a few basic princi...
Anti-Money Laundering Provisions in Bahamian Law
Bahamian law contains a number of provisions specifically designed to prevent money laundering. Money laundering refers to the process by which criminals conceal the origins of money obtained illegally. A large amount of money laundering occurs through transfers to and from banks, and the Bahamas...
Applying for a Bahamian Insurance Licence
Businesses seeking to sell insurance in The Bahamas must follow specific rules and regulations for applying to sell insurance and for maintaining an insurance business. This article describes the basics of what you need to get started. The Insurance Commission of the Bahamas oversees and regulat...
Employee Termination in The Bahamas
Employers and employees alike should learn about employee termination so that if and when it happens, they follow Bahamian employment law. Generally, under Bahamian law the employer is required to give a specific amount of notice to an employee, pay him a specific amount, and obey other procedure...
When Parties to a Mediation Have Insurance for the Claims at Issue
Sometimes, one or more parties who plan to seek mediation have insurance that covers or could cover the claims at issue in the dispute. How does having insurance impact the mediation and potential settlement? A representative of the insurance company will most likely attend the mediation or be a...
Bahamian Insolvency Proceedings
Insolvency proceedings in The Bahamas are either voluntary, court-supervised or compulsory. A voluntary proceeding can be pursued if the company is solvent. If a voluntary proceeding is commenced but the company does not file a declaration of solvency, then in those circumstances the voluntary pr...
The Trustee (Amendment) Act 2016 and the Hastings-Bass Rule
The Bahamas' Trustee (Amendment) Act 2016 makes several changes to the powers of trustees, including adding the Hastings-Bass Rule to Bahamian statutory law. The Hastings-Bass Rule originated in a 1974 British court decision called In re Hastings-Bass, in which the court found that a trustee coul...
Are There Legal Privileges in The Bahamas, and How Do They Work?
The Bahamas recognizes several privileges that allow testifying witnesses or parties to a lawsuit to refuse to answer certain questions or disclose certain documents. Generally, legal systems recognize privileges because they relate to important public policies such as privacy, confidentiality, a...
What Is the Bahamian Freedom of Information Act?
Earlier this year, Parliament enacted the Freedom of Information Act, 2017. The Act aims to further transparency, accountability, and public participation in government decision-making by granting the public access to information about the government. Not all government records are open to public...
New Privy Council Decision Addresses Appeal of Interlocutory Judgments
Recently, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the highest appellate court for The Bahamas) issued a decision clarifying Bahamian law regarding the appeal of interlocutory judgments. The issue in the case of Junkanoo Estate Ltd v UBS Bahamas Ltd (in voluntary liquidation) ([2017] UKPC 8, ...
Hearsay Evidence in The Bahamas
When witnesses testify during court proceedings, they usually answer questions about their own personal knowledge of events surrounding the court dispute. Sometimes, witnesses testify to information outside their personal knowledge because they are experts in their field or representatives of bus...
Why You Need a Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a written document appointing someone to act on your behalf as your agent. Powers of attorney allow another person, such as your attorney or another trusted person, to manage personal and financial transactions. For example, your agent could lease properties for you or work...
Sources of Bahamian Law
Judges, attorneys, and other legal practitioners in The Bahamas look to several different sources of law when working on cases. This article briefly summarizes the principal sources of Bahamian law. The Constitution The Bahamas has a written Constitution. Article 2 of the Constitution declares ...
Summary Judgment in Bahamian Actions for Specific Performance
When a plaintiff brings an action seeking specific performance of a contract for the sale or purchase of any property, Bahamian court rules permit the plaintiff to apply for summary judgment when the defendant presents no defense to the claim. Obtaining summary judgment means a quick resolution ...
International Probate: Where to Begin
The prospect of disposing of a relative or friend's estate when he or she has property and heirs in multiple countries may seem daunting at first. You may be wondering how to start the process, which types of professionals you need to consult, and more. Below, you will learn where to begin. What...
Do Mediations Really Work?
Do mediations really work? The short answer is yes! For many disputes, mediation not only helps resolve the dispute but is the best tool to do so. There are a few important reasons why this is true. The parties meet in one place Sometimes having all of the parties to a dispute in one place ...
Service of Process in The Bahamas and Abroad
Service of process refers to delivering court documents to the person being sued, his attorney, or the registered office of a business. There are very specific rules governing service of process both in The Bahamas and abroad because parties involved in a lawsuit must be given adequate notice of ...
What Is an Interlocutory Injunction in The Bahamas?
An interlocutory injunction is a court order which is issued before the final determination of a case. The interlocutory injunction requires a party to do or prevents a party from doing certain acts. In Bahamian commercial cases, the interlocutory injunction is used frequently to protect a compa...
The Witness Statement in Bahamian Litigation
In The Bahamas, the parties to a lawsuit gather witness statements prior to trial to help them prove their claims or defences. In general, these statements capture the personal observations of direct witnesses to the events that surround the dispute. Difficulties may arise when using a witness s...
Enforcing a Foreign Judgment in The Bahamas
After a judgment is entered in another country, the person in whose favor the judgment is entered may seek to enforce it in The Bahamas against a person or company based here. For example, the judgment may require a Bahamian company to pay money as a result of a dispute that occurred in another c...
Awards of Litigation Costs in The Bahamas
When contemplating a lawsuit, the cost of litigation is often one of litigants' primary concerns. You should be aware of how costs are awarded in the Bahamian court system because you may find that you could be liable to pay the other party's costs. Bahamian courts have a wide discretion to awar...