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Law Of Bermuda
The law of Bermuda is based on the common law legal system of England and Wales. Sources of Law * The law of England and Wales as it stood in 1620 - of all kinds: common law, equity and statute - became the law of Bermuda at that time, and it remains so to the extent that other sources have not changed it. * The Parliament of Bermuda enacts statutes on all domestic legal issues. * Bermuda has a body of delegated legislation. * Precedents established in Bermuda courts are binding on equal and lower courts. * Precedents established in the courts of England and Wales have force in Bermuda to the extent that they are "on-point". This is an issue because Bermuda statute law and England and Wales statute law are usually different. A particular example of this has arisen since the implementation of the Woolf reforms in England and Wales in 1998, since they do not apply in Bermuda. The effect has been that case law on Bermuda court procedure, except local case law, has stagnated since that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresence in the sky, but the articulate voice of some sovereign or quasi sovereign that can be identified," ''Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen'', 244 U.S. 205, 222 (1917) (Oliver Wendell Holmes, dissenting). By the early 20th century, legal professionals had come to reject any idea of a higher or natural law, or a law above the law. The law arises through the act of a sovereign, whether that sovereign speaks through a legislature, executive, or judicial officer. The defining characteristic of common law is that it arises as precedent. Common law courts look to the past decisions of courts to synthesize the legal principles of past cases. '' Stare decisis'', the principle that cases should be decided according to consistent principled rules so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). A physical revenue stamp had to be attached to or impressed upon the document to show that stamp duty had been paid before the document was legally effective. More modern versions of the tax no longer require an actual stamp. The duty is thought to have originated in Venice in 1604, being introduced (or re-invented) in Spain in the 1610s, the Spanish Netherlands in the 1620s, France in 1651, Denmark in 1657, Prussia in 1682 and England in 1694. Usage by country Australia The Australian Federal Government does not levy stamp duty. However, stamp duties are levied by the Australian states on various instruments (written documents) and transactions. Stamp duty laws can differ significantly between all eight jurisdictions. The rates of stamp duty also diffe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discretionary Trust
A discretionary trust, in the trust law of England, Australia, Canada and other common law jurisdictions, is a trust where the beneficiaries and/or their entitlements to the trust fund are not fixed, but are determined by the criteria set out in the trust instrument by the settlor. It is sometimes referred to as a family trust in Australia or New Zealand. Where the discretionary trust is a testamentary trust, it is common for the settlor (or testator) to leave a letter of wishes for the trustees to guide them as to the settlor's wishes in the exercise of their discretion. Letters of wishes are not legally binding documents. Discretionary trusts can only arise as express trusts. It is not possible for a constructive trust or a resulting trust to arise as a discretionary trust. Forms Discretionary trusts can be discretionary in two respects. First, the trustees usually have the power to determine which beneficiaries (from within the class) will receive payments from the trust. Sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purpose Trust
A purpose trust is a type of trust which has no beneficiaries, but instead exists for advancing some non-charitable purpose of some kind. In most jurisdictions, such trusts are not enforceable outside of certain limited and anomalous exceptions, but some countries have enacted legislation specifically to promote the use of non-charitable purpose trusts. Trusts for charitable purposes are also technically purpose trusts, but they are usually referred to simply as charitable trusts. People referring to purpose trusts are usually taken to be referring to non-charitable purpose trusts. Trusts which fail the test of charitable status usually fail as non-charitable purpose trusts, although there are certain historical exceptions to this, and some countries have modified the law in this regard by statute. The court will not usually validate non-charitable purpose trusts which fail by treating them as a power. In ''IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust'' 955Ch 20 the English Court of Appeal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Settlor
In law a settlor is a person who settles property on trust law for the benefit of beneficiaries. In some legal systems, a settlor is also referred to as a trustor, or occasionally, a grantor or donor. Where the trust is a testamentary trust, the settlor is usually referred to as the testator. The settlor may also be the trustee of the trust (where he declares that he holds his own property on trusts) or a third party may be the trustee (where he transfers the property to the trustee on trusts). In the common law of England and Wales, it has been held, controversially, that where a trustee declares an intention to transfer trust property to a trust of which he is one of several trustees, that is a valid settlement notwithstanding the property is not vested in the other trustees. Capacity to be a trustee is generally co-extensive with the ability to hold and dispose of a legal or beneficial interest in property. In practice, special considerations arise only with respect to minors and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tax Haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or national), and tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behaviour aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax reliefs. The first known taxation took place in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC. A failure to pay in a timely manner ( non-compliance), along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labor equivalent. Most countries have a tax system in place, in order to pay for public, common societal, or agreed national needs and for the functions of government. Some levy a flat percentage rate of taxation on personal annual income, but mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offshore Financial Centre
An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy." "Offshore" does not refer to the location of the OFC, since many Financial Stability Forum– IMF OFCs, such as Delaware, South Dakota, Singapore, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, are located "onshore", but to the fact that the largest users of the OFC are non-resident, i.e. "offshore". The IMF lists OFCs as a third class of financial centre, with international financial centres (IFCs), and regional financial centres (RFCs); there is overlap (e.g. Singapore is an RFC and an OFC). The Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda, has several major OFCs, facilitating many billions of dollars worth of trade and investment globally. During April–June 2000, the Financial Stability Forum–International Monetary Fund produced the first l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tax Residence
The criteria for residence for tax purposes vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and "residence" can be different for other, non-tax purposes. For individuals, physical presence in a jurisdiction is the main test. Some jurisdictions also determine residency of an individual by reference to a variety of other factors, such as the ownership of a home or availability of accommodation, family, and financial interests. For companies, some jurisdictions determine the residence of a corporation based on its place of incorporation. Other jurisdictions determine the residence of a corporation by reference to its place of management. Some jurisdictions use both a place-of-incorporation test and a place-of-management test. Domicile is, in common law jurisdictions, a different legal concept to residence, though the place of residence and the place of domicile would typically be the same. The criteria for residence in double taxation treaties may be different from those of do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trust Law
A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settlor", the party to whom the right is entrusted is known as the "trustee", the party for whose benefit the property is entrusted is known as the " beneficiary", and the entrusted property itself is known as the "corpus" or "trust property". A ''testamentary trust'' is created by a will and arises after the death of the settlor. An ''inter vivos trust'' is created during the settlor's lifetime by a trust instrument. A trust may be revocable or irrevocable; an irrevocable trust can be "broken" (revoked) only by a judicial proceeding. The trustee is the legal owner of the property in trust, as fiduciary for the beneficiary or beneficiaries who is/are the equitable owner(s) of the trust property. Trustees thus have a fiduciary duty to manage th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trusts
A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settlor", the party to whom the right is entrusted is known as the "trustee", the party for whose benefit the property is entrusted is known as the " beneficiary", and the entrusted property itself is known as the "corpus" or "trust property". A ''testamentary trust'' is created by a will and arises after the death of the settlor. An ''inter vivos trust'' is created during the settlor's lifetime by a trust instrument. A trust may be revocable or irrevocable; an irrevocable trust can be "broken" (revoked) only by a judicial proceeding. The trustee is the legal owner of the property in trust, as fiduciary for the beneficiary or beneficiaries who is/are the equitable owner(s) of the trust property. Trustees thus have a fiduciary duty to manage th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex itself, as well as each individual unit within. Residential condominiums are frequently constructed as apartment buildings, but there are also rowhouse style condominiums, in which the units open directly to the outside and are not stacked, and on occasion "detached condominiums", which look like single-family homes, but in which the yards (gardens), building exteriors, and streets as well as any recreational facilities (such as a pool, bowling alley, tennis courts, and golf course), are jointly owned and maintained by a community association. Unlike apartments, which are leased by their tenants, condominium units are owned outright. Additionally, the owners of the individual units also collectively own the common areas of the property, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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