HAMILTON, Bermuda, (CMC):
BERMUDA IS to establish a new commercial court to deal with trade disputes, Chief Justice, Richard Ground, has confirmed.
He said the court would resolve business cases and is expected to mainly handle complaints involving the island's huge insurance and reinsurance industry.
The Chief Justice will assign judges, known as commercial judges, to the new court.
The creation of a commercial court is part of a series of rule changes designed to modernise the day-to-day workings of the Supreme Court.
Drawn up by senior legal officials, they will come into effect on January 1 and update existing rules that came into force 20 years ago.
Other legal changes include an "over-riding objective", enshrining the main aim of the court to deal with cases fairly, save expense and come to a verdict as quickly as possible.
SPELLING THEM OUT
Government spokesman John Burchall said, "although these principles have always been implicit in the administration of justice, it is felt by spelling them out they can be more readily understood and applied".
Another change will see a modern costs system introduced that would enable winning parties to recover a "realistic portion" of their legal expenses.
The majority of fixed scales of allowable expenses would be swept aside and the court registrar would have the final say on what legal expenses should be allowed, official said.
