The Grand Court Of The Cayman Islands: Reflecting On The Year 2022

• Law Firm: Conyers
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Insolvency/Bankruptcy/Re-structuring, Financial Restructuring, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
• Author: Mr Jonathon Milne and Rowana-Kay Campbell
• Published date: 19 January 2023

As the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands reopens for 2023, it is a good time to reflect on what transpired in 2022. A review of the filings made in the Grand Court throughout 2022 shows a very significant number of cases concerning large-scale cross-border insolvency and restructuring proceedings, as well as various complex commercial disputes.

Statistics from the Grand Court

The Grand Court, which has jurisdiction for civil and criminal matters, has five divisions namely: (1) Financial Services; (2) Family; (3) Criminal; (4) Admiralty; and (5) Civil. As the Cayman Islands continues to be one of the leading jurisdictions in the world for financial services, it is not surprising that the Financial Services Division is the most active, with approximately 332 new proceedings filed in 2022 relating to capital reductions, schemes of arrangement, company restorations, and winding up petitions, to name a few. Additionally, approximately 156 civil cases and 277 Petitions for Divorce and ancillary relief were filed in the Grand Court. The Grand Court had delivered 170 reasoned judgments as at 31 December 2022.

When compared to the previous year's statistics, there was an overall decline in the number of new proceedings filed in the Grand Court in 2022. For example, in 2021, based on available information, there were an additional 54 cases filed in the Financial Services Division, an additional 52 cases filed in the Family Division, and an additional 462 cases filed in the Civil Division. The decline in the number of proceedings initiated in the Grand Court might be due, at least in part, to an increase in the use of alternative dispute resolution options, particularly as this decline coincides with the opening of the Cayman International Mediation and Arbitration Centre ("CI-MAC") and a new Practice Direction concerning Judicial Mediation.

Significant cases handled by Conyers

This year, Conyers attorneys were involved in many of the most complex and novel matters in the jurisdiction at first instance and appellate level, including in relation to:

• High-value shareholder disputes (see, for example, In the Matter of Virginia Solution SPC Ltd and In the Matter of Seahawk China Dynamic Fund);
• Large-scale cross-border insolvency matters (see, for example, In the Matter of Silver Base Group Holdings Limited and In the Matter of GTI Holdings Limited);
• Complex private client and trusts litigation: (see, for example, MaplesFS Limited v (1) B&B Protector Services Limited...