British Virgin Islands: Aviation Finance & Leasing

1. What international aviation conventions has your jurisdiction signed and/or ratified?

The British Virgin Islands is not a signatory (or party by extension from the UK) to the Rome Convention, the Geneva Convention, the Chicago Convention or the Cape Town Convention.

In relation to the Chicago Convention, however, certain provisions of that Convention with which the United Kingdom is obliged to ensure that its overseas territories comply (including the British Virgin Islands) are reflected in the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 (“ANOTO”).

The British Virgin Islands is, by Order-in -Council from the United Kingdom, a party to the New York Convention.

2. If your jurisdiction has signed and ratified the Cape Town Convention: a. Which qualifying declarations (opt-in and opt-out) has your jurisdiction made under the Cape Town Convention? b. Does the Cape Town Convention take priority over conflicting national law?

N/A

3. Will a court uphold the choice of a foreign governing law in respect of the following contracts and if so, please also state any conditions or formality requirements to this recognition a. Lease and b. Security document (for example, mortgage)?

The choice of foreign laws as the governing law of a lease is a valid choice of law and would be recognised and given effect to in any action brought before a court of competent jurisdiction in the British Virgin Islands, except for those laws (i) which such court considers to be procedural in nature, (ii) which are revenue or penal laws or (iii) the application of which would be inconsistent with public policy, as such term is interpreted under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. The submission in the Lease to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Foreign Courts is valid and binding.

To read the full article, please click here.

 

---

---

This article was originally published in The Legal 500.