Current cases

Current cases

Cases only appear here a few weeks before the appeal is due to be heard by the JCPC.

The Current cases table below can be sorted either in ascending or descending order by clicking on the following title headings:

  • Case ID
  • Case name
  • Jurisdiction

Current cases can also be found by using the search engine below:

Current cases
Case ID Case name Jurisdiction Case summary - Issue
JCPC 2022/0109 Ramsbury Properties Ltd (Appellant) v Oceanview Construction Ltd (Respondent) (St Christopher and Nevis) Court of Appeal of St Christopher and Nevis Whether the appellant complied with the terms of the lease between the parties.
JCPC 2023/0031 Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (Appellant) v Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago [To be added in due course]
JCPC 2023/0007 Director of Public Prosecutions (Appellant) v Chris Durham also called Bouye (deceased) and 2 others (Respondents) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Did the Court of Appeal err in:
  1. failing to apply the established case law & principles in relation to the Respondent's challenge of the DPP's decision to continue the prosecution and/or in relation to whether the criminal trial judge had sufficient and appropriate tools to deal with the Respondents' complaints;
  2. concluding that the DPP's decision to allow the criminal trial process to deal with the Respondent's complaints was so exceptional as to be reviewable on the grounds of irrationality and/or abuse of process;
  3. concluding that it was unnecessary to the High Court's reasoning to make a finding that the DPP's sole eyewitness had committed perjury; and
  4. concluding that the High Court was correct to have granted leave for judicial review.
JCPC 2023/0042 Louis Andrew Monteil (Appellant) v Board of Inland Revenue (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago [To be added in due course]
JCPC 2022/0054 Methanex Trinidad (Titan) Unlimited (Appellant) v The Board of Inland Revenue (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago [To be added in due course]
JCPC 2023/0002 Tianrui (International) Holding Company Ltd (Appellant) v China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd (Respondent) (Cayman Islands) Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands Whether a minority shareholder has standing to bring a personal claim against a company where the board of directors of that company had allegedly exercised their powers to issue and allot shares for the improper purpose of diluting the shareholding of the minority shareholder.
JCPC 2021/0109 Candace Hoyte (Appellant) v The Strategic Services Agency and another (Respondents) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Under the Strategic Services Agency Act, Chapter 15:06 of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago (the "SSA Act"), is the Strategic Services Agency (the "SSA") a legal person capable of being sued in tort?
JCPC 2022/0049 Shawn Campbell and 3 others (Appellants) v The King (Respondent) No 2 (Jamaica) Court of Appeal of Jamaica [To be added in due course]
JCPC 2022/0092 Republic of Kazakhstan (Appellant) v Terra Raf Trans Trading Ltd (Respondent) (Gibraltar) Court of Appeal for Gibraltar Are costs orders made by the English High Court in relation to proceedings to enforce a foreign arbitral award registrable in Gibraltar?
JCPC 2021/0068 PIC Insurance Company Ltd (Appellant) v Zona Barthley and another (Personal Representatives of the Estate of Dr Rolston Barthley, Deceased) (Respondents) (Antigua and Barbuda) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Antigua and Barbuda) (1) - (2) Was the Court of Appeal correct to accept as proper the findings of fact made by the judge? Can the concurrent findings be reversed?
(3) - (5) Was the Court of Appeal correct in its findings under the Companies Act 1995?
JCPC 2018/0102 Smith (Appellant) v Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (Respondent) The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (1) Whether it was disproportionate and excessive for the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (the "Disciplinary Committee") to have directed that the appellant's name be removed from the Register of Veterinary Surgeons.
JCPC 2019/0023 Forbes and others (Appellants) v Scotiabank (Bahamas) Ltd (Respondent) (Bahamas) The Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Whether the amount of damages awarded to the Appellants was correct.
JCPC 2022/0005 Yonggao Pan (Appellant) v Minister of National Security (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
  1. Were the reasons given for a Deportation Order were sufficient?
  2. Does the Appellant require permission from the court to bring a judicial review claim to determine the adequacy of the reasons given in the Deportation Order, or does he have an automatic right to do so?
JCPC 2023/0045 Kuwait Ports Authority and another (Respondents) v Mark Eric Williams and 2 others (Appellants) (Cayman Islands) Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands What is the correct test for determining whether a limited partner of an exempted limited partnership ("ELP") is entitled to bring a derivative action against the ELP's general partner under section 33(3) of the Exempted Limited Partnership Act (2021 Revision)?
JCPC 2023/0112 Sheikha Amena Ahmed H.A. Al-Thani and another (Appellants) v Sheikha Aisha Mohammed Ali Abdullah Al Thani and 2 others (Respondents) (Virgin Islands) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands) Was the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal wrong to conclude that section 245 of the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 (the "BCA 2004") established that company shares in the British Virgin Islands ("BVI") are movable property for succession purposes?
JCPC 2022/0079 National Bank of Anguilla (Private Banking and Trust) Ltd (in Administration) and another (Appellants) v Chief Minister of Anguilla and 3 others (Respondents) (Anguilla) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands) Should leave to apply for judicial review have been (and should now be) granted? The issues on appeal include:
  1. The correct approach to be applied on an appeal from a judge's refusal to grant leave to apply for judicial review.
  2. Whether the Appellants have a sufficiently arguable case for leave to apply for judicial review to be granted.
  3. Whether the judge's refusal to grant leave exceeded the ambit within which reasonable disagreement is possible.
  4. Whether there is a relevant decision that the Chief Minister of Anguilla (the First Respondent) or the Executive Council of Anguilla could properly have made which would be the subject of the judicial review.
JCPC 2022/0076 Karen Allen and 2 others (Respondents) v Registrar of Companies and another (Appellants) (Montserrat) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Montserrat) This case concerns the correct interpretation of rules in the Montserrat Companies Act that apply to the disqualification of company directors. In particular, the Privy Council is asked to decide:
  1. Whether a court, exercising its power under sections 65 to 67 of the Montserrat Companies Act to disqualify those it deems unfit from being a director, can disqualify a person from holding office in any company in Montserrat or only those companies in which that person previously held office and that had been the subject of an investigation.
  2. What the relevant legal test is for deeming an individual to be unfit for managing a company in Montserrat.
  3. What weight is to be given to evidence contained a report published by a court appointed investigator, when it is not subject to the stringent rules that apply to expert evidence in legal proceedings when the expert is appointed by the parties.
  4. In light of the answers to the above issues, whether the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the Court of Appeal were correct to partially overturn the first instance judge's decision.
JCPC 2022/0041 and JCPC 2022/0062 1Globe Capital LLC (Appellant) v Sinovac Biotech Ltd (Respondent) (Antigua and Barbuda)
and 1Globe Capital LLC (Appellant) v Sinovac Biotech Ltd (Respondent) (Antigua and Barbuda) No 2
Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Antigua & Barbuda) The validity under Antiguan law of a Rights Agreement adopted on 28 March 2016 by the board of the Respondent company without shareholder approval.
JCPC 2022/0046 Julian Washington (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bermuda) Court of Appeal for Bermuda Whether the Court of Appeal erred in affirming the conviction of Mr Washington for murder, attempted murder, using a firearm to commit an indictable offence and handling ammunition.
JCPC 2023/0071 Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago (Respondent) v CL Financial Ltd (in Liquidation) (Appellant) Court of Appeal for Bermuda Is a Court of Appeal decision which is based solely on a summary of the High Court's reasons valid notwithstanding the existence of a detailed judgment expanding on those reasons? What is the correct approach to assessing liquidators' remuneration and expenses?
JCPC 2024/0049 Ravi Balgobin Maharaj (Appellant) v The Cabinet of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and another (Respondents) No 2 (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago What is the meaning of the words "independent of the Government, Business and Labour" in the context of the appointment of the chairman of the National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago under section 3(2)(d) of the National Insurance Act 1971?
JCPC 2023/0018 Changyou.com Ltd (Appellant) v Fourworld Global Opportunities Fund Ltd and 7 others (Respondents) (Cayman Islands) Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands Are the appraisal rights under section 238 of the Companies Act (2020 Revision)(the "Act") available to minority shareholders in a subsidiary which merges in a "short-form" merger with a holding company?
JCPC 2023/0086 Belitza Marling Sagaray Silva (Appellant) v Replay Destinations (Bahamas) Ltd (Respondent) (Bahamas) Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas On the true construction of a sale agreement, what title did the purchaser of a condominium agree to purchase under that agreement in circumstances where:(a) the advertised square footage of the condominium was less than that recorded in a statutory declaration made pursuant to land-registration system for condominiums and (b) the terms of the sale agreement were expressed to be subject to the statutory declaration? (2)Is the purchaser entitled to rescind her sale agreement and recover the deposit paid under that agreement?
JCPC 2021/0066 Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (Respondent) v Waterworks Ltd (Appellant) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago The case concerns the interpretation of a clause in two design and construction contracts entitling a contractor to obtain reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred prior to termination. The issue is whether charges incurred by the appellant, due to the cancellation of purchase orders for the supply of equipment made with a third party, were 'a cost or liability which in the circumstances was reasonably incurred in the expectation of completing works'?
JCPC 2023/0046 Mitoonlal Persad and another (Appellants) v Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Was the Court of Appeal wrong to find that: (i) the jurisdiction of the High Court to determine the issue in this appeal was ousted by s.23(6) and (7) of the Industrial Relations Act; and (ii) the Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (the "Board") did not act in breach of natural justice, nor did it fetter its discretion when making its decision in relation to good standing?
JCPC 2024/0057 Jaiwantie Ramdass (Respondent) v Minister of Finance and another (Appellants) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
JCPC 2023/0105 Keros Martin and six others (Appellants) v Director of Public Prosecutions (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Does the Court of Appeal have jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a decision of the High Court on whether to grant bail to a person charged with murder?
JCPC 2023/0116 Bhagwantee Singh-Weekes (as Legal Personal Representative of the Estate of Navin Singh) (Appellant) v South-West Regional Health Authority (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Did the Court of Appeal err in not ordering that VAT be paid on the prescribed costs ordered to be paid in circumstances where the appellant's attorneys were registered for VAT but the appellant was not?
JCPC 2019/0118 Stephen Anthony Aldridge (Appellant) v Mordaunt Estates Ltd (Respondent) (Mauritius) Supreme Court of Mauritius Whether the Supreme Court of Mauritius was correct to find the Appellant, Mr. Stephen Anthony Aldridge, liable for having breached the Companies Act 2001 for having debited the bank account of the Respondent, Mordaunt Estates Ltd., and credited his own account for the sum of GBP 615,000.
JCPC 2023/0088 Woodford Construction Ltd (Appellant) v Readymix (West Indies) Ltd (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Was the trial judge wrong to find that one party to a contract had stolen material from the other, when the allegation of theft had not been made expressly in the alleging party's statement of case? Did the trial judge interpret the meaning of the word "theft" correctly, including questions of knowledge and dishonesty if relevant, when finding that the allegation of theft was proven?
JCPC 2023/0019 Private Power Operators Ltd (Appellant) v Industrial Disputes Tribunal and 2 others (Respondents) (Jamaica) Court of Appeal of Jamaica Was the Court of Appeal wrong to make its decision on grounds that were not set out in the Notice of Appeal, without giving the appellant ("PPO") sufficient opportunity to address the court?
JCPC 2023/0107 Fang Ankong and another (Appellants) v Green Elite Ltd (In Liquidation) (Respondent) (Virgin Islands) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands) Whether the Court of Appeal erred in applying the Duomatic principle and holding the Defendants personally liable.
JCPC 2020/0003 Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago (Respondent) v Tobago House of Assembly (Appellant) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Whether the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago erred in finding that: i) section 25(2) of the Tobago House of Assembly Act did not empower the Executive Committee of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) to enter into such contracts as would constitute a 'build-own-lease-transfer' (BOLT) arrangement; and
JCPC 2024/0016 Marcia Ayers-Caesar (Respondent) v The Judicial and Legal Service Commission (Appellant) (Trinidad and Tobago) Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
JCPC 2023/0104 Steven Goran Stevanovich (Appellant) v Matthew Richardson and another (as Joint Liquidations of Barrington Capital Group Ltd (In Liquidation)) (Respondent) (Virgin Islands) Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands) Can the appellant, as the former director of a company in liquidation, apply under section 273 of the Insolvency Act 2003 to reverse a decision made by the liquidators of the company to admit a claim in the liquidation?
JCPC 2021/0117 Ricardo Farrington (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bahamas) Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas Should the Appellant be re-sentenced for murder in light of the Privy Council's decision in Bowe and another v The Queen [2006] UKPC 10?
JCPC 2023/0020 The Corporation of Hamilton (Appellant) v Attorney General and another (Respondents) (Bermuda) Court of Appeal for Bermuda Whether section 1 of the Constitution of Bermuda is independently and directly enforceable, and if so whether certain legislative measures contravened the Appellant's rights to protection of law and to protection from deprivation of property without compensation. In any event, whether those legislative measures contravened the rule of law and the separation of powers.