The Cayman Islands has developed a framework for the enforcement of foreign judgments (including arbitral awards), which has long been recognised as friendly to those wishing to enforce judgments or awards against assets or entities located within the jurisdiction.
This is often attributed to the desire to advance the Cayman Islands’ reputation as a creditor-friendly financial services centre. However, as much as the available procedural mechanisms can facilitate easy enforcement in the Cayman Islands, the process is not always straightforward, particularly when the judgment debtor is unwilling (or unable) to satisfy its obligations as prescribed by the judgment or award.
Our team recently contributed an article on the latest trends and developments concerning the enforcement of judgments in the Cayman Islands as part of Chambers and Partners' 2025 edition of its popular Enforcement of Judgments guide.
The chapter, which is available to read in full from the link above, summarises the existing procedural framework for the enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in the Cayman Islands and, with reference to recent judgments from the Cayman Islands Grand Court, highlights challenges that might be faced by an applicant in enforcement proceedings. It also considers practical strategies that might need to be deployed by the successful applicant in enforcement proceedings to ensure that some value is recovered after an enforcement order is obtained.
The Enforcement of Judgments 2025 guide provides the latest legal information across nearly 40 jurisdictions on the identification of another party’s asset position, the costs and time involved in the enforcement of domestic and foreign judgments, challenges to enforcement, and the process of enforcing arbitral awards.
