British Virgin Islands
Answer ... The majority of loan documents are governed by New York law, Hong Kong law or English law. The lex situs of commercial transactions or assets also plays an important role. Any specific requirements will depend on the governing law of the finance documents and what is required in the relevant jurisdiction.
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... Final and conclusive judgments for a sum of money given against the company in a superior court of England and Wales, the High Court of Northern Ireland, the Court of Session in Scotland, the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria and the High Courts of the Western, Northern and Eastern Regions and Lagos (Nigeria) and the superior courts of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New South Wales, St Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad & Tobago may be registered and enforced as judgments of the BVI Court under the Reciprocal Enforcement Act if:
- an application is made to register the judgment with the High Court of the BVI within 12 months (or such longer period as the High Court may allow) of the date of the judgment;
- the High Court considers it just and convenient to enforce the judgment;
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the BVI entity:
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- has not appealed the judgment; and
- does not have the right and has not expressed the intention to appeal the judgment;
- the foreign court had jurisdiction in the matter;
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the company either:
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- submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court; or
- was resident and carrying on business in the jurisdiction and was duly served with process;
- the judgment was not in respect of taxes or similar fiscal or revenue obligations or a fine or penalty imposed on the BVI entity;
- the judgment was not obtained by fraud;
- enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to BVI public policy; and
- the proceedings under which the judgment was obtained were not contrary to the principles of natural justice.
A judgment of a court of any other jurisdiction not listed above (‘foreign court’) is not capable of being registered and enforced as a judgment of the High Court under the Reciprocal Enforcement Act. However, a final and conclusive judgment for a debt or definite sum obtained against a BVI entity in the foreign court will be enforced by the High Court without re-examination of the issues if:
- the foreign court had jurisdiction in the matter;
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the BVI entity either:
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- submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court; or
- was resident and carrying on business in the jurisdiction and was duly served with process;
- the judgment was not obtained by fraud;
- the judgment was not in respect of taxes or similar fiscal or revenue obligations or a fine or penalty imposed on the BVI entity;
- recognition or enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to BVI public policy; and
- the proceedings under which the judgment was obtained were not contrary to the principles of natural justice.
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... The law on sovereign immunity is governed by the UK State Immunity Act 1978, which was extended to the BVI by the State Immunity (Overseas Territories Order) 1979; thus, a relevant entity may waive immunity pursuant to the Immunity Act.
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... The Arbitration Act 2013 allows for the United Kingdom and BVI arbitral awards to be treated in the BVI as New York Convention awards. The BVI is party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958. As such, the court in the BVI is mandated by law to enforce a convention award without the re-examination of the merits of the case or of the matters arbitrated upon. The Arbitration Act provides that the enforcement of a convention award may be refused if the party against which it is invoked can prove that:
- a party to the arbitration agreement was under some incapacity under the law applicable to that party;
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the arbitration agreement was not valid:
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- under the law to which the parties subjected it; or
- if there was no indication of the law to which the arbitration agreement was subjected, under the law of the country where the award was made;
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the person:
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- was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator; or
- was otherwise unable to present its case;
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the award:
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- deals with a difference not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration; or
- contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration;
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the composition of the arbitral authority or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with:
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- the agreement of the parties; or
- failing such agreement, the law of the country where the arbitration took place; or
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the award:
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- has not yet become binding on the parties; or
- has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, it was made.
Enforcement of a convention award may also be refused if:
- the award is in respect of a matter which is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the laws of the BVI; or
- it would be contrary to public policy to enforce the award.