Judgment in the following Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases will be handed down on Monday 14 March at 11am (GMT):

• Attorney General for Bermuda (Appellant) v Ferguson and others (Respondents) (Bermuda) – JCPC 2019/0077

Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal for Bermuda

The Bermudian Parliament passed the Domestic Partnership Act 2018, which provided for same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships and declared that a marriage is void unless the parties are respectively male and female. The Respondents, being individuals affected by the legislation and a Bermudian church which supports and conducts same-sex marriages, applied to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for a declaration that the provisions of the 2018 Act which purported to revoke same-sex marriage contravened the Bermudian constitution.

The Supreme Court of Bermuda ruled in favour of the Respondents, holding that s. 53 of the 2018 Act contravened sections 8 and 12 of the Bermudian constitution. The Court of Appeal for Bermuda allowed the Attorney General’s appeal only in part, holding that s. 53 of the 2018 Act contravened section 8 (but not section 12) of the constitution, but the Court also held that s. 53 was void on the grounds that it was enacted for a religious purpose. The Attorney General now appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Respondents are seeking to cross-appeal for a declaration that the 2018 Act contravenes section 12 of the constitution.

The issue is: whether Bermudian legislation providing that only marriages between a man and a woman will be recognised as such in law infringes the Bermudian constitution.

More information is available on our website.

• Day and another (Appellants) v The Governor of the Cayman Islands and another (Respondents) (Cayman Islands) – JCPC 2020/0033

Jurisdiction: Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands

Ms Chantelle Day and Ms Vickie Bodden Bush are two adult women in a committed relationship. They live with their daughter in the Cayman Islands, and wish to marry there. In 2018, the Deputy Registrar refused their application for the appropriate marriage licence, on the basis that the Marriage Law of the Cayman Islands defines “marriage” to mean “the union between a man and a woman as husband and wife”.

Ms Day and Ms Bush sought to challenge the Marriage Law and the Deputy Registrar’s decision as incompatible with the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Cayman Islands. They were successful at first instance. The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands found there to be violations of their right to private and family life, their freedom of conscience and freedom to manifest their belief in marriage, and their freedom from discrimination in the enjoyment of their rights. The Court exercised its power under the Constitution to modify the Marriage Law so as that “marriage” was defined to mean “the union between two people as one another’s spouses”.

The Deputy Registrar and the Attorney General appealed successfully against that decision to the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands, which decided that the right to marry under the Caymanian Constitution does not extend to same-sex couples. The Court of Appeal did, however, declare that Ms Day and Ms Bush were entitled to legal protection functionally equivalent to marriage.

Ms Day and Ms Bush now appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The issues are:

(1) Does the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Cayman Islands provide a right for Ms Day and Ms Bush to access the institution of marriage?

(2) If so, should the Order of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands – which modified the Marriage Law so as that “marriage” is defined to mean “the union between two people as one another’s spouses” – be restored?

More information is available on our website.

• First Caribbean International Bank (Barbados) Ltd and another (Respondents) v Interested Creditors (Appellants) (Saint Lucia) – JCPC 2019/0075

A company, Sunset Village Inc. (“SV”), purchased land at Beausejour on the island of Saint Lucia to develop a residential resort village. Villas were sold off-plan with purchasers making payments in stages. SV secured a mortgage against the property with First Caribbean International Bank (Barbados) Ltd (“FCIB”) but became insolvent and construction on the site stopped. FCIB appointed Oliver Jordan as Receiver/Manager of SV. The Interested Creditors were originally purchasers of off-plan villas with claims against SV. They subsequently entered into consent order agreements negotiated with the Receiver/Manager. The Consent Orders were registered as judicial hypothecs against SV’s property.

On FCIB’s petition, Oliver Jordan became the Court appointed Liquidator. When he was appointed, the Liquidator estimated that there were secured and unsecured claims against SV of EC$32,500,000. SV’s assets were sold for EC$6,500,000. The Liquidator applied to the High Court of Saint Lucia for an Order regarding distribution of the proceeds of sale. The High Court ordered that, after expenses were paid, the remaining proceeds of the sale should be distributed pari passu amongst SV’s creditors pursuant to the Insolvency Act and Rules of the United Kingdom.

FCIB appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Saint Lucia, arguing that the High Court should not have relied on the UK Insolvency Act and Rules and should have considered the registration and ranking of creditors under the Civil Code of Saint Lucia, giving FCIB priority in ranking over all other creditors. FCIB’s appeal was allowed and FCIB was ordered to receive proceeds of the sale in priority to other secured creditors. The Interested Creditors now appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The court is asked: to determine how to rank and distribute the proceeds of sale of Sunset Village’s estate as between the company’s creditors.

More information is available on our website.

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These JCPC judgments will be handed down in person, in the Supreme Court building.

Lord Hodge will deliver the ‘piece to camera’ judgment hand down in the matter of Attorney General for Bermuda v Ferguson and others. Lord Sales will read out a ‘piece to camera’ judgment hand down in the matter of Day and another v The Governor of the Cayman Islands and another. The decision in the matter of First Caribbean International Bank (Barbados) Ltd and another (Respondents) v Interested Creditors (Appellants) will be announced in Court, but there will be no ‘piece to camera’ read-out of this judgment.

These judgments will be live streamed via the JCPC website.