Archive for November, 2009
New faces join Grand Court financial bench
(CNS): Andrew Jones QC and Acting Justice Angus Foster have been sworn in by Governor Stuart Jack to serve in the new Financial Services Division (FSD) of the Cayman Islands Grand Court, which commenced operations this month. The appointments to the FSD had to be made before the Judicial and Legal Services Commission could be established under the new Constitution but the government said that, in the spirit of the new commission, a panel was establish to advise Jack onwho should be appointed.
Justice Foster, who has been serving in the Grand Court as an acting judge over the past two years, and Jones, formerly of Maples and Calder, join Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, Justice Alexander Henderson and Justice Charles Quin as judges available for dealing with cases which come up in the FSD.
“There are increasing numbers of financial cases, and their continued speedy disposal is important to the Islands’ sustained competitiveness in international financial services,” the governor said. “I am therefore pleased that the court has now formalised its work in the financial services area with the new division and the appointment of additional judges who have considerable expertise in this area.”
The sitting fees of the new judges, who may also serve in other divisions of the courts’ work as required, will be less than the hearing fee paid by litigants. They have been recruited on the basis that neither salaries nor pensions will be offered. Complementing the current corps of Grand Court judges, who will continue to preside over international financial matters as well as domestic matters, the new judges will be remunerated on a per diem basis.
“The new judges obviously see this as a chance to serve the Cayman Islands and its people. I welcome and thank them for joining our other judges in carrying out this important service,” Jack added.
The panel which advised on their appointment was chaired by Brian Bothwell, prominent retired professional from the local financial industry. The other members were retired Chief Magistrate of the Cayman Islands and former Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Justice Kipling Douglas, and Andrew Moon, retired partner of Maples and Calder. The committee’s selection followed local and overseas advertisements and consultation with the CJ.
The Financial Services Division of the court began operations on 2 November, following the implementation of the relevant Grand Court Rules on 1 November.
The division’s introduction follows years of planning and infrastructural development by the Judicial Administration. This includes redeployment of personnel to facilitate dedicated administrative and registry staffing, and the development of courtrooms wired for technology to assure speedy resolution of trials, an outcome critically important to the financial industry’s success. Another important outcome will be the consequent reduction in costs to litigants and to the Government.
The court’s financial service’s case load has an intake of about 200 per year, with an average disposal rate of within twelve months. The standard period of resolution for complex stages of these cases is six months. “This is a highly competitive rate of disposal and it is with the objective in mind of ensuring, or even improving on, this rate of disposal, while maintaining the high calibre of decisions for which our courts are known, that we have established the Financial Services Division,” said Smellie.
The dedication of other divisions will also, of course, enable us to ensure that the domestic business of the court continues to be dealt with in the timely and efficient manner that it also deserves.”
Lawyer threatens to run marathon in mankini
(CNS): Alistair Walters, managing partner of Cayman based international law firm Campbells, has already raised several thousand dollars in sponsorship for his run on 6 December in the Cayman Islands Marathon. If the sponsorship reaches CI$10,000, he says he will run it in a Borat mankini. Walters is raising the money for the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman’s Scholarship Fund, a charity fund set up to help provide continued education opportunities for local children. If he can’t make the $10,000 Walters says he’s still prepared to do the race in a tutu for the price of $5000. Derek Haines is also planning on covering the 26 miles and is looking for sponosrs for meals on wheels but he says he’s sticking to the normal running gear.
Walters has also encouraged larger donors to throw down a time challenge to him. Based on his best times running half a marathon, he estimates that a goal of under 4 hours is possible.
“I have never run a full marathon before,” said Walters, “but I think the added motivation in running for a good cause and the challenge of beating a time to raise even more funds will help me to push through.”
Meanwhile, Rotarian Derek Haines has also been honing his long distance running skills over the past several months, completing over 1500 miles so far this year and he hopes to raise money for both Meals on Wheels and the Youth Rugby Club.
Twenty five years ago, Haines completed the London marathon with an impressive time of 2.59 hours and then repeated the feat in his home town of Leicester. His most recent performance is 3.53 hours in the Robin Hood marathon (Nottingham) in 2005, a race that he ran with his daughter Lizzy in her first marathon race. Anyone interested in pledging Rotary’s senior participant can also make a guess on his finishing time and 6 bottles of Veuve Cliquot and 250 rugby club dollars goes to the winner.
To sponsor Walters Contact Rachel Elmes at Campbells relmes@campbells.com.ky and for Haines call 323 0803 or email derek.haines@drcl.ky
Lawyers on debt offering confirm popularity of bond
CNS): Local legal firm Walkers have confirmed that the Cayman Islands government’s first ever sovereign bond issue on the international bond markets was “massively over-subscribed”. The lawyers said it attracted considerable investor interest and was reportedly sold out within hours. The subscriptions received totalled in excess of US$1.25 billion. The 5.950% coupon came in a fraction lower than the expected range of 6.000%-6.125%, which Walkers said indicates the level of investor confidence in the Cayman Islands.
“Walkers were proud to act as Cayman Islands counsel to HSBC, underwriter and sole book-runner in the government of the Cayman Islands’ ground breaking US$312 million Rule 144A/Reg S offering of 5.95% Notes due 2019. The notes are to be listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. The deal closed on 24 November 2009,” Walkers explained.
Walkers also said that the firm had advised HSBC as to Cayman Islands’ law on the bridge financing facilities provided to the government in October 2009 prior to the issuance. The Walkers team on the note issuance was Philip Paschalides (partner) and Nicola Bashforth (associate) and on the bridge financing Wayne Panton (partner) and Richard Munden (associate).
Prison farm was drugs-drop
(CNS): HMP Northward’s Wilderness Farm has been revealed as a drop for drugs and mobile phones, as well as a place where inmates would meet people outside the prisons official visiting system. During the trial of Randy Martin, a serving Northward prisoner who is charged with the murder of 21-year old Sabrina Schirn, two inmates, both currently serving time at Northward and Eagle House, said that drugs were smuggled into the prison via the East End farm facility, which has since been closed. The prisoners inferred that friends, family and girlfriends would also routinely meet with inmates there and bring them contraband.
On a day when the court heard from eight prosecution witnesses that included close friends of Schirn, her brother, her employer, a worker on a farm close to the Wilderness property, and two Northward inmates, it was also revealed that security at the prison farm, when it was operational, did not appear to be very tight. Inmates said prisoners used the farm as a meeting place and a drugs drop. It was also revealed that, while mobile phones are strictly prohibited at prison, a number of inmates have them and use them to keep in touch withfriends and family.
Derek Bush (20), who is a serving a sentence for armed robbery in the young offenders unit, Eagle House, reluctantly told the court that many prisoners had mobile phones and that the farm was known as a place where weed would be smuggled to inmates.
Testifying that he had been in a relationship with Sabrina Schirn before he was sent to prison, he admitted that he had passed her number to the defendant Martin when he asked for it, as Martin had said he wanted her to do something for him. Bush also confirmed that he had smoked weed (ganja) that Martin had given him that he said Schirn had brought to the prison farm.
When pressed for more details about the weed and who had mobile phones in the prison, where they and the drugs were kept, as well as other serving prisoners, by defence counsel David Evans QC, Bush became increasingly reluctant to talk. He eventually told the court he had nothing more to say as he said all he had come to say and refused to answer any more questions. Pressed by the Judge, Charles Quin, who explained to Bush that if he didn’t help the court with the truth he could be held in contempt and serve further time, the inmate resumed his answers.
He confirmed that he knew Lance Myles, who is currently serving 20 year sentence for attempted murder, and that he had also had a relationship with Schirn and that he was related to the defendant.
During the day’s testimony it was revealed that Sabrina Schirn had been in a relationship with a number of young men who had been in and out of prison, including Lance Myles, who friends and family said was not serving time in March of 2009, when Sabrina was murdered.
Three of Sabrina’s best friends gave emotional testimony and described her as an outgoing girl who was fun to be with, hard working and very likeable. The friends all told how worried they were when Sabrina went missing and how they had searched for her. They indicated that Sabrina had a number of boyfriends, some of whom she was dating around the time of her murder, and said they had heard her mention someone called Randy who was serving time in Northward. One of the friends also said that she had overheard a voice message from someone called Randy asking Schirn to pick him up from the prison farm and take him to East End.
Schirn’s friends also all confirmed that she had been in a relationship with Lance Myles in the past but that she was not associating with him around the time she was killed. They did, however, state that they were aware of threats she had received from him and his girlfriend at that time.
Schirn’s employer at Blockbuster also testified that Sabrina’s car had been vandalized twice while she was at work and that she had heard of an occasion where a man had come to the store wielding a tyre iron and had threatened Sabrina in front of customers.
The three friends of Schirn all testified how they had spoken to her on the morning of Wednesday 11 March, the day she was last seen alive, and when she told them she was going to go do something in East End. The friends all said they were expecting to meet with her later that day. But when she did not answer her phone, which they said she was never without, they began to get very worried and began a search that evening of places she liked to go.
Schirn’s brother also testified how he had co-ordinated a search with friends and family all over the island in the days following her disappearance. Kevin Jennings told the court that he had also visited Lance Myles, who he said had deniedseeing her at all for weeks before and who had stammered and behaved differently once he knew that Jennings was Sabrina’s brother.
Jennings told the court that, after the car she was driving was found in East End in High Rock Road, they had begun combing that area. He told the court that he had a friend in the search group that knew East End well and was helping direct them up secluded roads in the vicinity of where the car was found. Jennings then described how he had come across Sabrina’s body along one of the dirt tracks, he saw that she had suffered multiple chop wounds and then called the police recognising he was standing in a crime scene.
During the day’s hearing a second inmate from Northward prison, who dealt with maintenance at the Wilderness Farm, had testified how he had seen a white car go past the prison facility at around 10:35 or so the morning of 11 March, which he said was definitely driven by a woman. He also confirmed that there had been trouble at the farm with inmates meeting people and getting drugs at the farm and bringing them back to the jail.
A maintenance worker from the Lookloy farm, located next to the prison farm, also testified that he had seen a white car parked on the High Rock Road that day as he was watering the plants. He said he had then seen a prisoner come across the Lookloy property without a shirt and then get in the car which reversed out of its spot and then drove away.
The murder trial which is being heard by judge alone continues before Justice Quin on Friday morning when the prosecution will call more its extensive witness list.
Cops investigating their own
(CNS): The police commissioner has said that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is establishing its own anti-corruption satellite unit, which will look into the allegations made against police offices during the Operation Cealt investigation. Using that information as a spring board, he said, within six months action could be taken to exonerate or charge officers in the service if enquiries prove that any of the allegations are true. David Baines (left) said that some of the allegations are of a very serious and criminal nature, but he also noted that the accusations were easy to make but difficult to prove.
Giving evidence on what he knew about the Special Police Investigation’s Operations Tempura and Cealt and the spending on those enquiries, he told the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday that he would no longer require extraordinary payments for this area of police work. He said that once the subsequent disciplinary hearings and legal cases associated with the UK team were settled, the spin-off investigations would be brought in house to the RICPS and would be paid for from the 2009/10 normal police budget appropriation.
Baines admitted that Operations Tempura and Cealt were tainted as a result of what had happened, but he emphasised several times to the committee that serious allegations had still been made against a number of police officers which had to be investigated and put to rest so that the RCIPS could begin to build trust again with the community.
He said the goal now was to look at which of the allegations were corroborated by more than one witness and where there was evidence to support the accusations to bring charges. He said, however, some were dated and unsubstantiated and they would be seeking to clear officers where the allegations were unfounded.
Baines said that some of the allegations were not only very serious but they seemed to be widely known to a lot of people in the community and therefore if there was any truth to them they had to be addressed.
Given the problems with the special police investigation, however, Baines said he had discussed the allegations widely with the remaining members of the special investigation team who are still in the Cayman Islands working with the RCIPS. He said he did not believe that the officers who were here from the UK were merely on a fishing expedition but that they were operating under the law. Despite what people might think, the accusations that were made to the UK officers could not be ignored, he said.
“What we have seen is some serious allegations made that if true would undermine the credibility of the RCIPS,” Baines told the committee, adding that if he has 20 or 30 accusations against his officers, the only way to rebuild trust would be to investigate as they could not just be left hanging.
Asked how much longer this would go on for by the committee members, Baines said he could not say with certainty as it depended on the investigations regarding each accusation, but he believed they would be in a position to see some results in the next 4 to 6 months.
In the end, he said the service had to deal with perceptions of leaks and corruption, and while they would use Operation Cealt as a springboard, it would be an entirely new team that would conclude the investigations that would not be tarnished by what had gone before.
He said building a new internal satellite unit would also meet the requirement of the RCIPS leadership to create its own internal anti-corruption unit that would deal with internal police investigations in the future.
Followers or leaders
Today is Thanksgiving Day (a time to give thanks for the harvest and to show gratitude in general – started by the Pilgrims) in the US and one of the biggest holiday weekends in that country. Ihave noticed over the past ten years or so the increasing adoption of this day into our local culture and the ensuing celebrations by many.
I have no major issue with this, as it is indeed good to set aside at least one day of the year for giving “Thanks” as a nation. The Americans (and those closely aligned with them, such as ex-service men or past residents and their families) in these islands are entitled to celebrate their day. My question is simply this: why can’t we have OUR own Thanksgiving Day, where the date is indeed significant to us rather than a mere adoption?
I tried to make this happen while I was an MLA with little success, so the chance of my achieving this now is probably even slimmer, but I believe with all my heart that September 11th /12th each year should be a time that these islands pause and reflect and give thanks to God for all his mercies, after our experience with Hurricane Ivan in 2004. This monster of a storm changed our landscape, our people (and hopefully their outlook on materialism) forever and all this with very minimal loss of life. For this we should be eternally grateful to God! We survived and re-built, while the world watched and thought we were gone forever and could not.
Things Caymanian are important to me and many others and I believe that too often we adopt culture, mannerisms and habits in this country without taking time to reflect and adapt them to our own style and needs.
I use this medium therefore now to stimulate public discussion on this matter and at the end of the day the majority, as usual, should dictate what happens in this regard. I trust there is some public support for this idea and I understand also that another holiday on the calendar could pose problems for the decision makers, but maybe it could be achieved by some change to the existing holidays, for instance combining with National Heroes Day or some other.
New fee paying procedure for US visa applications
(CNS): Starting next month, Cayman Islands residents applying for non-immigrant visas from the US Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, must present ‘fee paid’ receipts from National Commercial Bank (NCB) for application fees, as the Embassy will no longer accept payment for application fees in the Consular Section on the day of visa interviews. Without ‘fee paid’ receipts, applicants will not be permitted entry to the embassy and will need to reschedule their interview appointments.
According to information on the Embassy website, with the conclusion last week of its contract with Paymaster, the Consular Section of the US Embassy is now accepting receipts for visa application fees paid only at NCB. This change applies to all non-immigrant visa applicants, including fiancé (e) visas and visas for Cayman Island residents.
The Embassy granted a two-week grace period, ending 30 November 2009, for Cayman Island residents who may have already made other arrangements for paying their application fee or who plan on paying their application fee in the Consular Section of the US Embassy. Starting 1 December, Cayman Island residents applying for a non-immigrant visa must present a ‘fee paid’ NCB receipt for non-immigrant visa application fees.
Applicants must present “fee paid” receipts in their own name since non-immigrant visa application fees are not transferrable to another applicant.
The Embassy says this change allows it to increase security for applicants and ensure that only NCB, the approved payment location, is collecting fees.
Visa applicants can make an appointment for their visa interview through the Embassy call centre and self service website.
Local celebs are all the jazz
(CNS): Two of Cayman’s home grown celebrities “KK Alese” Edie and Brian Braggs have been selected to entertain the crowds at the sixth annual Cayman jazz fest as emcees for this years glittering event. Edie, who performs and records under the artist name “KK Alese”, is one of the most celebrated singers in the Cayman Islands and Braggs has been very active in the Cayman Islands performing arts and emerging film industry sector for the past few years.
The Department of Tourism’s show case event takes place next weekend 3-5 December.
Alese made her mark on the Caribbean music scene in 2008 when her first widely released single Move enjoyed success throughout the region and made it to the top 5 of the Jamaican music charts. The song’s accompanying video also reached number 1 on major Caribbean video channels and, as a result, Alese was nominated for an Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) award and won an RETV award for Best Caribbean Video. In addition, Alese was honoured by the Cayman Islands Music and Entertainment Association for wider promotion of the Cayman Islands through her music.
Along with a Los Angeles-based film and television company, Brian was most recently instrumental in the formation of the Cayman Islands Film Commission. His passion for acting happened at a very young age, with his aspiration of becoming a performer of martial arts in feature films. Encouraged to audition for the Cayman Islands Cultural Foundation’s annual show Rundown, Braggs prides himself as being an integral part of the local show since 2007 portraying six different diverse and distinct characters. His first real foray into feature films came when he appeared as attorney "Winston Bramble" in the film Cayman Went staring Jeffrey DeMunn, Michael Lombardi and Susan Misner. Currently, Braggs is slated for two upcoming feature films.
Meeting of Parents by Parents
(CNS): Parental responsibility and involvement, behaviour of students and parents, conflict resolution, after school programs and literacy programs are just some of the issues to be addressed at a meeting this weekend to promote parenting in education. No officials or Education Ministry representatives will be present, which, the organisers hope will encourage open dialogue among the parents and guardians present. Spearheaded by Deirdre Seymour along with other parents, a ‘Meeting of Parents by Parents’ is an effort to bring public school parents (elementary, middle and high school) together to discuss some of the issues being experienced within the schools as well as coming up with suggested solutions.
The meeting will also highlight success stories at the various schools that are happening through good support systems or after school programs that are positively affecting parents and/or students.
This initiative has received full support from Education Minister Rolston Anglin. Feedback from the meeting will be provided by Seymour to the Ministry.
The meeting will take place on Saturday 28 November at 5:00 to 7:30pm at the Mary Miller Hall. Refreshments will also be provided.
Cayman top of the shots
(CNS): Efforts by local health officials to tackle vaccine-preventable diseases have been recognised by the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) with one of it highest accolades. The Public Health Department has received the 2009 Award for Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in the Caribbean. The Islands’ immunisation programme is ranked as one of the most successful in the Caribbean. On average, more than 90% of the population is immunised annually. This is the second time that Cayman has received the award. The department was also honoured in 1999.
He specifically commended the efforts of Public Health Surveillance Officer Timothy McLaughlin and EPI Manager Alice Jane Ebanks who spearhead Cayman’s surveillance programmes for vaccine preventable diseases such as polio, measles and rubella.
These figures have allowed public health officials to make significant strides in eradicating certain communicable diseases. “However, our goal is to achieve the target of 95% immunisation.” Dr. Kumar adding urging all parents to check their children’s immunisation records. “Parents must ensure that children are fully immunised. It will greatly support our efforts if they keep track of the schedule (as printed in each child’s record) and make the necessary appointments through the Public Health Department or any of the district health centres.”
One imported case of rubella was reported in 2000 and the spread from this was limited to nine people, who were mainly older adults as children and young adults were immunized. No Congenital Rubella Syndrome (birth defects from rubella infection) was reported following these cases. The last Congenital Rubella Syndrome case occurred in 1996 in a child born locally to an expatriate. The last incidence of measles occurred in 1990 when 27 cases were reported. Diphtheria has now been absent from Cayman for decades and the last case of Haemophilus influenzae type b or Hib was over a decade ago, when two serious cases were reported. Pertussis or Whooping cough was last seen when a local outbreak occurred in 1999 with a total of nine cases reported.