Feb 2012
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
HIGH COURT
PROCEDURE – EFFECT OF NONPAYMENT OF COURT FEES
In the course of considering whether a matter should be transferred from the High Court to the commercial list, the Court held that it had the jurisdiction to stay a claim on its own initiative where it turned out that neither party had been paying the court fees at the rate prescribed by the Commercial Claims (Fees) Order, 2011. The Court justified the stay as necessary to give effect to Section 8 of the Courts of Justice Fees Act (Cap 202) which required that documents ought not to be received, filed used or admissible in evidence if it does not bear the appropriate stamp. The Court found that the Court clearly had the jurisdiction to prevent the further prosecution of proceedings that were, in effect, an abuse of the Courts process until the defaults were cured.