Swanning Off – no jurisdiction to make Black Swan orders

The arguments Stephen Moverley Smith QC ran at the original hearing of Black Swan Investments v Harvest View Ltd in 2010 have finally been vindicated.  The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal had just decided in Broad Idea International Ltd v Convoy Collateral Ltd  [BVIHCMAP2019/0026] (29 May 2020) that Black Swan was an aberration.  For the last 10 years it has provided a precedent for the grant of freestanding freezing orders in aid of foreign proceedings.  The Court of Appeal has now concluded that, absent appropriate legislation, the BVI Court has no jurisdiction to make such orders.