Two recent judgments broaden the Norwich Pharmacal
jurisdiction in the BVI, each by the two incumbent Commercial Court
justices: the Honourable Justice Malcolm Davis-White [Ag] and the
Honourable Justice Gerhard Wallbank [Ag].
In recent years the BVI Commercial Court showed reluctance to
grant Norwich Pharmacal orders. Bannister J expressed his view in
no uncertain terms that these applications to provide third party
disclosure to assist foreign parties, always against
registered agents, were highly onerous. Bannister J's decision
in JSC BTA Bank v Fidelity Corporate Services
Limited BVI HC (Com) 2010/137 illustrates this,
ruling that the activities of a registered agent were not
sufficient to meet the threshold test of being "mixed up in
the wrongdoing" and that the applicant had to establish
"necessity". On appeal in JSC BTA Bank
HCVAP 2010/035, the Court of Appeal overturned this
decision, finding that registered agents were not mere onlookers
and that the
