A bill to clarify Cayman’s trusts law, as well as a bill to facilitate the enhancement of the local banking system, has been tabled for the next sitting of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, 3 April.

The Trusts (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Bills of Exchange (Amendment) Bill, 2019 will be debated during the fourth meeting of the 2018-2019 session.

The trusts bill makes minor amendments that improve the operation of the Trusts Law (2018 Revision), and enhance Cayman’s competitiveness. It achieves this by enhancing the Grand Court’s administration of trusts, to provide greater clarity and certainty for court proceedings involving users of Cayman Islands trust products.

The bill is a commercial enhancement stemming from a Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission report on Cayman’s trusts law. It is supported by the Cayman Islands Judiciary, and the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners Cayman.

The Bills of Exchange (Amendment) Bill, 2019 facilitates an automatic clearing house system to more efficiently clear cheques, known as bills of exchange, between local retail banks. The amendment, which augments the Bills of Exchange Law (1997 Revision), would allow banks to recognise digital images of cheques as if they were the original cheque. This removes the need to physically deliver individual cheques, which speeds up the clearing process.