Shows / Exploring Offshore Litigation
Exploring Offshore Litigation
Exploring Offshore Litigation is a captivating podcast series containing audio of written blog content that dives deep into the intriguing world of offshore litigation, including the BVI and Cayman. Each episode sails through complex legal waters, bringing you up-to-date analysis of recent high-stakes cases and expert commentary from the leading minds in this specialised field. Our episodes demystify legal jargon and break down complex cases to make them accessible to all. Harneys, an…
Episodes
Exploring Offshore LitigationA filter, not a formality: BVI derivative action leave after Dekel Derivative action or unfair prejudice? The leave requirement under section 184C of the BCA A realistic prospect of success Practical lessons Comment
A BVI derivative action lets a minority shareholder sue on behalf of the company when those in control will not, but leave is far from automatic. The Court of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Disclosure and collateral use lessons for litigants
The English High Court in Bourlakova v Estate of Bourlakov has confirmed that an order to disclose arbitral material is to be honoured even where the arbitral…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
An expanded BVI Commercial Court: strengthening the infrastructure for international disputes A Commercial Court built around international disputes Why does this matter? The expanded Court is only part of the story What should clients take from the development?
The British Virgin Islands is set to expand its specialist commercial litigation offering. At its meeting on 19 August 2026, Cabinet approved the expansion…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Freezing orders, delay and proprietary injunctions: key lessons from Alliance Petrochemical v Mazzagatti Background The WWFO application The applicable principles The impact of delay API's three new grounds: all rejected The proprietary injunction A BVI perspective Freezing orders in the BVI Practical takeaways for offshore litigators
The English Commercial Court has confirmed that delay in seeking a freezing order and proprietary injunction can be fatal to the application. In Alliance…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
When Irrevocable Becomes Revocable: Jersey Royal Court Blesses Reversal of Settlor Exclusion Following Abolition of the Non-Dom Regime Background The Article 47 variation The B Trust The Article 51 Blessing Comment
In In the Matter of the Affinity Trust and the V Trust, the Jersey Royal Court approved the variation of a discretionary trust to reverse the irrevocable…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Drelle overruled: what the Supreme Court's judgment means for BVI and Cayman insolvency Summary of Supreme Court decision BVI implications Cayman Islands implications Conclusion
The UK Supreme Court's judgment in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle overruled the English Court of Appeal's January 2025 decision and has significant potential…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Drelle overruled: what the Supreme Court's judgment means for BVI and Cayman insolvency Summary of Supreme Court decision BVI implications Cayman Islands implications Conclusion
The UK Supreme Court's judgment in Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle overruled the English Court of Appeal's January 2025 decision and has significant potential…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Crypto-fraud, injunctions against persons unknown and the cost of Exchange non-cooperation Facts Freezing injunction Disclosure Costs Conclusions
In the recent English High Court decision in Wilden v Person Unknown, DHCJ Guy Vassall-Adams KC continued a proprietary and worldwide freezing order against an…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Denali v Manson and the intersection of sanctions law and insolvency
The consequences of getting it wrong are severe yet the legislation often leaves practitioners without clear answers to commercially significant questions. The…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
At your own risk: the Grand Court reaffirms the costs consequences of winding-up petitions on disputed debts Point 1: Costs follow the event Point 2: Foreign lawyers' fees, a point of general application Point 3: Interest on costs Comment
The recent judgment in China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation v Hyalroute Communication Group Limited (No.3) sets out the costs consequences of a…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Director liability in offshore contracts: what Said v Butt still teaches us The principle in Said v Butt [1920] 3 KB 497 When can personal liability arise? Practical steps for offshore boards and in-house counsel
Boards of offshore companies often have to make difficult commercial decisions where the contractual consequences are not clear-cut. This can be particularly…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Foreign judgment enforcement in the BVI: what you need to know in 2026 Two routes to enforcement A. Statutory registration under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act B. Common law enforcement for non-scheduled jurisdictions Defences to enforcement Interim relief in support of foreign proceedings Enforcement of arbitral awards Post-judgment enforcement tools Practical considerations Rapid response checklist Conclusion
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) offers two principal routes for enforcing foreign judgments: (A) statutory registration under the Reciprocal Enforcement of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Estoppel explained: What the UK Supreme Court's latest decisions mean for offshore litigation What is estoppel? The narrow limits of issue estoppel Practical guidance for offshore litigators
The UK Supreme Court has recently delivered judgment in Skatteforvaltningen v MCML Ltd which has helped focus the parameters of estoppel, together with…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Oiling the wheels of commerce: a reminder of the requirements for sanctioning a scheme of arrangement in the Cayman Islands
blogs Offshore Litigation Blog An expanded BVI Commercial Court: strengthening the infrastructure for international disputes blogs Offshore Litigation Blog…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Directors' duties: causation and loss in insolvent trading
The court upheld the first instance judge's key findings against two former directors but narrowed the company's recovery. It separated the client money…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Shares for a euro – English Court upholds the integrity of BVI corporate structures against asset stripping attempts Background The decision Practical takeaways
In a recent decision of the English Commercial court, GLAS SAS (London Branch), as trustee of €250 million in tradeable bonds, succeeded in claims against a…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
BTC's on-chain fingerprint: implications on recovery strategy Background Tracing and service on the blockchain Bitcoin: a "discrete and identifiable unit" Judgment despite silence Comment
In Smithers and another v Persons Unknown Category 1 and others, the English Commercial Court granted summary judgment in favour of two victims of a crypto…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
An unwritten rule: The Guernsey Court of Appeal on informal trust declarations and the presumption of equality
A handwritten note, a single sentence long, with no witness, no signature block, and no mention of how property should be divided. Can such a document…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Soprim Construction SARL v The Republic of Djibouti & others [2026] EWHC 1850 (Comm) - how a state's grip on a container terminal ended in a London charging order
The English High Court has held that a Djiboutian container terminal operator (DCT) held over US$41 million in shipping profits on trust for the Republic of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
It's not an issue, or is it? BVI Court of Appeal clarifies what amounts to assent to becoming a holder of onerous shares Background What does section 49 require? Why the email exchange was sufficient to show assent Written assent must exist at the time of issue ASOR's conduct provided a further basis for refusing relief Commercial implications
Harneys has successfully acted for the joint liquidators of Phoenix Commodities Pvt Ltd (Phoenix), Ryan Jarvis of Deloitte and Rachelle Frisby at Interpath…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Conditions for reappointing Cayman ROs: the Ruipeng decision
On 31 March, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands delivered its judgment in the Matter of New Ruipeng Pet Group Inc, making orders concerning the appointment…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
The BVI Court System: A Q&A Guide What is the structure of the courts in the BVI? Are any pre-action steps required before issuing proceedings? How are claims initiated? What is the typical timeframe from filing to trial? Can court filings be submitted electronically? Is there a right of appeal? What are the timelines and procedures for appeals? Is interim relief available?
The BVI has established a reputation for maintaining an independent and highly respected court system for the resolution of high-value commercial disputes. The…
Exploring Offshore LitigationThe BVI Court System: A Q&A Guide What is the structure of the courts in the BVI? Are any pre-action steps required before issuing proceedings? How are claims initiated? What is the typical timeframe from filing to trial? Can court filings be submitted electronically? Is there a right of appeal? What are the timelines and procedures for appeals? Is interim relief available?
The BVI has established a reputation for maintaining an independent and highly respected court system for the resolution of high-value commercial disputes. The…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
BVI holds firm on jurisdiction for claims under the BCA Transitional CPR provisions – old rules vs revised rules Forum non conveniens Takeaways for practitioners
In the recent decision of the BVI Commercial Court in Transcience Investments Limited v Greentown Holdings (BVI) Inc, the Court dismissed a jurisdiction…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
The presumption of advancement lives on: Liao v Liao and the enduring bond between parent and child The Legal Framework: Resulting Trusts and the Presumption of Advancement The Orthodox Position: England and Australia The Diverging Approach: Canada The Shifting Approach: New Zealand The Present Case: Background The Issues on Appeal The New Zealand Court of Appeal's Reasoning Comment
In Liao v Liao [2026] NZCA 250, the New Zealand Court of Appeal has confirmed that the presumption of advancement continues to apply to transfers from parents…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
The presumption of advancement lives on: Liao v Liao and the enduring bond between parent and child The Legal Framework: Resulting Trusts and the Presumption of Advancement The Orthodox Position: England and Australia The Diverging Approach: Canada The Shifting Approach: New Zealand The Present Case: Background The Issues on Appeal The New Zealand Court of Appeal's Reasoning Comment
In Liao v Liao [2026] NZCA 250, the New Zealand Court of Appeal has confirmed that the presumption of advancement continues to apply to transfers from parents…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Protecting against online fraud: Contractual and compliance strategies after Logix Aero
While some may think it odd to pursue an "innocent" counterparty for losses caused by fraud, Logix Aero Ireland Limited v Siam Aero Repair Company Limited…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Twilight-zone treasury payments: BVI Court orders US$125.9 million clawback
In a recent decision of the BVI Court, a connected group company was ordered to repay US$125.9 million after a last-minute intra-group loan repayment was found…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
58.com - Court determines reliability of merger price in latest section 238 fair value appraisal judgment Background The judgment Key takeaways
The Grand Court has delivered its judgment in Re 58. com, Inc., a long running and highly contested section 238 fair appraisal dispute in the Cayman Islands…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
58.com - Court determines reliability of merger price in latest section 238 fair value appraisal judgment Background The judgment Key takeaways
The Grand Court has delivered its judgment in Re 58.com, Inc., a long running and highly contested section 238 fair appraisal dispute in the Cayman Islands…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
A paradigm case for privacy: the Grand Court's authoritative restatement on confidentiality in trust proceedings Background The legal framework: balancing open justice and privacy Judgment Comment
The recent decision in In the Matter of the D, E, F, G and H Trusts serves as an important reminder on the nature of the confidentiality framework in trust…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Can a Trust Be a "Person"? Lessons from the New Zealand Supreme Court for Offshore Trust Practitioners
On 13 May 2026, the Supreme Court of New Zealand granted leave to appeal in RH & JY Trust v WorkSafe New Zealand, and considered whether a trust and/or the…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Into Perpetuity: The Grand Court Charts New Territory Under the Cayman Islands' Reformed Trust Regime The Reforms to the Perpetuities Act in Brief The Application to disapply Principles Comment
The Perpetuities Act (2025 Revision) marks an important moment for Cayman Islands trust law. For settlors of new trusts, the legislation offers the power to…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Common sense and common law: Navigating the gap between breach and loss Background The issues The judgment Key takeaways
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has dismissed an appeal in Logix Aero Ireland Limited v Siam Aero Repair Company Limited, holding that the voluntary…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Statutory Hastings-Bass in the Cayman Islands: the Grand Court sets aside a deed of exclusion Background The issues The judgment Key takeaways
In the recent decision of The Trustees v AB and Ors (Re the D Trust) the Cayman Grand Court granted relief under section 64A of the Trusts Act (2021 Revision)…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
BVI Court of Appeal reaffirms high threshold for case management stays pending foreign proceedings Background The threshold for a case management stay The appeal Representation
In the recent decision of Lim Yew Cheng v Guanghua SS Holdings Limited, the BVI Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a first instance refusal to stay…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
By your leave? Cayman experts (maybe) need not apply
In the recent decision of State House Trust v Friend Media Technology Systems the Jersey Royal Court allowed an appeal against the Master's refusal to exclude…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Can you repeat that for me? The Grand Court’s approach to continuing the appointment of restructuring officers
The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands recently delivered its judgment in In the Matter of New Ruipeng Pet Group Inc, concerning the continuation of the…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Battle ready: Cayman hands parties pre-action discovery tools
Litigants and prospective litigants are now armed with two new tools for discovery in the Cayman Islands, thanks to the newly-introduced Rule 7A of GCR Order…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Back from the dead: A creditor's guide to restoring struck-off BVI companies The Legislative Landscape: From Strike Off to Dissolution Two Routes to Restoration Administrative Restoration under Section 217 Court Restoration under Section 218 The Registered Agent Problem: The Real Hurdle and Recent Development Effect of Restoration Practical Considerations for Creditors The Way Forward: Scope for Legislative Reform? Conclusion
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has long occupied a pre-eminent position among the world's offshore jurisdictions for corporate formation. Hundreds of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Restoration and liquidation as a “single composite judicial act” - No registered agents required
For a creditor to place a dissolved BVI company into insolvent liquidation, the creditor must first restore the company. Good news to all creditors – AS PNB…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Uphold upheld: Winding-up petition dismissed despite governance failures Background The issues The judgment Key takeaways/comment
On 24 March 2026, Justice Segal handed down his long-awaited trial judgment in Laggner v Uphold, dismissing a petition to wind up a Cayman Islands digital…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Generative AI in Litigation: Key guidance from the Irish Court of Appeal The decision in Guerin v O'Doherty The Court's guidance on AI use Consequences of improper AI use Lawyers be warned
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, the use of generative AI has proliferated across every domain and litigation is no exception. Courts in various…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Defanged: Curtailing company participation in winding up proceedings
Koa Capital LP and 507 Summit LLC (together, the Petitioners) presented a winding up petition on 16 January 2024 in respect of Fang Holdings Limited (the…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
The Privy Council closes with a wide Facts and judicial history The Privy Council's decision Key takeaways: Three telling features of the Trust Instruments
A long-standing question in offshore trust practice concerns the role of the protector and the nature of their power. When a trust instrument requires a…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Unfair prejudice remedies: Is limitation dead? Relevant legal provisions Background Judgment Implications for offshore jurisdictions
In THG Plc v Zedra Trust Company, the UK Supreme Court, by 4-1, overturned the Court of Appeal and held that no statutory limitation period applies to unfair…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Mistakes happen but the court is here to help – Bermuda court sets aside trustee's tax-blind distribution
The trustee was the trustee of two related trusts, the A Trust and the B Trust. As part of a restructuring, the trustee, acting in its capacity as trustee of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Stay denied: BVI Court of Appeal reaffirms threshold for a stay in US$40 million shareholder dispute
In a previous blog post, we discussed the first instance judgment in the Phoenix BVI litigation, where Justice Mangatal considered the formalities for becoming…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
English High Court considers tests for worldwide freezers and duty of full and frank disclosure
In Lakhany v Hasan, the English High Court* discharged a worldwide freezing order (WFO) for an applicant's failure to adequately discharge their "full and…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Grand Court confirms inherent jurisdiction to compel parties to participate in ADR
In the recent decision of Unicorn Biotech Ventures One Ltd v Unicorn Biotech Ventures Two Ltd the Grand Court has for the first time considered the issue of…
- Exploring Offshore Litigation
Privy Council abrogates Shareholder Rule and issues Willers v Joyce direction
In Jardine Strategic Limited v Oasis Investment II Master Fund Ltd & Ors the Privy Council (on appeal from Bermuda) held on July 24 that the so-called…
Exploring Offshore LitigationPrivy Council decision – Cayman Islands: Submission to foreign courts
In a recent Privy Council decision IGCF SPV 21 Limited v Al Jomiah Power Limited and another, the Board ruled on when a party is held to have submitted to the…
Exploring Offshore LitigationAppointment of an Equitable Receiver in Cyprus
Harneys successfully secured the appointment of a receiver by way of equitable execution over a Cyprus private company, in order to assist in the execution of…
Exploring Offshore LitigationEnforcing security over mortgage assets in the British Virgin Islands: the emerging battle grounds
There has been a significant increase in the number of lenders enforcing against secured assets in the BVI, which has entailed an uptick in the appointment of…
Exploring Offshore LitigationA Tale of Two Arbitrations: Lessons from the BVI Court of Appeal
In the recent judgment of TAX v FDQ, the BVI Court of Appeal provided guidance on the granting of anti-suit arbitration injunctions and the Court's supervisory…
Exploring Offshore LitigationNavigating the Arbitration-Insolvency Interplay: Hyalroute and the Cross-Border Implications for Creditors
It's a familiar dilemma: a debt remains unpaid under a contract and the creditor wishes to pursue payment of the debt. The contract contains an arbitration…
Exploring Offshore LitigationA More Common Thread Running Through the Common Law? The Supreme Court of Bermuda Grants What Is Believed To Be the First-Ever Extra-Territorial Summoning of a Company Director to Appear Before It for a Private Examination by Joint Provisional Liquidators
In a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Bermuda ('Court'), Harneys and the joint provisional liquidators ('JPLs') of a Bermuda company (the 'Company')…
Exploring Offshore LitigationGuide on Restoring a Cyprus Company that has been struck off pursuant to section 327 of the Law
In Cyprus, companies that are struck off the official companies register maintained by the Department of Intellectual Property and Registrar of Companies in…
Exploring Offshore LitigationSnapshot of key enforcement methods in the BVI
The enforcement toolkit available in the BVI is similar to many other common law jurisdictions. However, the BVI Courts have tailored their approach to meet…
Exploring Offshore LitigationBalancing Justice and Modernization: Cyprus Court Rejects Videoconference Testimony Request
Harneys successfully opposed a claimant's application seeking the Court's leave to testify via videoconference during civil proceedings, before the District…