As set out in Part 1, the terms "sham trust" and "illusory trust" both describe different things. It could therefore be argued that both terms have a place in the nomenclature of the future.

Bermuda is internationally renowned for its thriving global reinsurance market and its status as a premier tourism destination.

2018 has already seen a number of important judicial appointments, and retirements, at the courts of the major offshore financial centres. The new appointments, however, contain many familiar names.

The perception that the world's leading offshore financial centres are harmful "tax havens" that facilitate the avoidance of tax in onshore jurisdictions has led to intense pressure for OFCs to adopt onshore-led transparency ...

Bermuda, like a number of other jurisdictions, has a statutory regime to facilitate corporate restructurings by enabling majority shareholders to "squeeze out" minority shareholders through an amalgamation or merger...

Irrespective of whether the protector's role is wide or narrow, it will occasionally be the case that the protector strays beyond the scope of the powers conferred upon him.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority ("BMA") released a consultation paper, Operational Resilience and Outsourcing Code ("CP") on 14 January 2025, which outlines standards that the BMA has designed to bolster the financial service sector's ability to pre-empt, adapt, manage, recover from, and learn from operational disruptions.

Under the trusts laws of most commonwealth jurisdictions, where a court finds a trustee personally liable for a breach of trust, the court has discretion to relieve that trustee of personal liability...

The Royal Court of Guernsey's decision on the duties of directors is significant for the wider offshore financial services market and for D&O insurers.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has published a consultation paper entitled Proposed Enhancements to the Insurance Group Supervision Framework (CP).

The optimists among us look for "silver-linings" in these challenging times. One of these is affirmation of our capacity for innovation and adaptation as individuals and businesses

It is well recognised that a trustee has a right to retain trust assets from a beneficiary in order to meet proper trust expenses and future contingent liabilities.

It is worth noting as a starting point that there is no requirement to appoint a protector. It has been suggested that the concept has been more popular in relation to offshore trusts because ...

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has gone "all in" to establish itself as a leading venue for international arbitrations, riding the current wave of popularity for resolving international commercial disputes through arbitration.

Many Bermuda-registered companies are now subject to new beneficial ownership registration requirements by virtue of the Companies and Limited Liability (Beneficial Ownership) Amendment Act 2017, ...

These should be good times for the captive insurance sector and for other self-insurance arrangements.

In HSBC v Vigilante et al [2024] SC (Bda) 74, the Supreme Court of Bermuda struck out proceedings for delay, in what appears to be the first reported (or otherwise electronically available) civil case in Bermuda struck out because of the contumelious conduct of the claiming party.

Fiona Lorraine Philipp v Barclays Bank UK PLC [2021] concerned a couple, the victims of a "push payment" fraud, who were unable to recover damages from their bank for failing to prevent the...

The procedure was first used in Bermuda in 1999 in the reorganisation of ICO Global Communications Limited, a case in which there was a strong US creditor base.

This background note summarises the Government of Bermuda’s announcements foreshadowing a Competition Act 2026, and is the first in a series of short articles in respect of this proposed legislation.