Golden Accumulator Limited and Coral House Limited v Cayman Islands Monetary Authority

This article undertakes a comparative analysis of the approach in the UK with the Commonwealth Caribbean jurisprudence concerning the doctrine of legitimate expectation. It argues that there is an ad hoc approach of the courts the Commonwealth Caribbean towards their application of the doctrine of legitimate expectation and highlights the need to clearly define the reach of this doctrine.     

The Cayman Islands: Paradoxes of Insularity in the Caribbean and Other British Overseas Territories

Liverpool Law Review - The Cayman Islands has a population of 63,415 (Cayman Islands Government) and an area of 264 square kilometres, making it the world’s twentieth smallest nation...     

Hastings-Bass: the true and the spurious

In his article in Trusts and Trustees, 2007, volume 13, No 7,Dakis Hagen discussed the increasingly widespread application,and the uncertain limits, of the ‘Unruly rule in Hastings-Bass’.In this article, co-editor Tony Molloy QC questions whetherwhat has come to be called the Rule in Hastings-Bass is anythingmore than a baseless snare.     

The unruly rule in Re Hastings-Bass: are the limits still unclear?

The principle in Re Hastings-Bass is currently enjoying a revival,although it remains controversial; the limits of the applicationof this useful doctrine have yet to be clearly defined. Thisarticle examines the limits as they have been understood byjudges in recent decisions.     

Social science in court

This article discusses the role of social science in legal proceedings with special attention to the ethical situation of the expert psychologist asked to testify about the reliability of an eyewitness identification. It argues that in this area as in others one cannot discuss the ethics of expert psychological testimony without attending to the quality of the research and theory on which the testimony is based. It also identifies as considerations that bear on the propriety of such testimony the information the fact finder is likely to receive in its absence and the factual guilt of the defendant. The paper goes on to discuss the relationship between law and social science more generally. It argues that ultimately courts do and should have the last word regarding the place of social science in legal proceedings.     

The experimental psychologist in court

This special issue comprises articles by psychologists, legal scholars, and ethicists on the ethics of expert testimony by experimental psychologists. In it the major ethical questions facing the prospective expert witness are clarified, and alternative positions on these issues are defined and debated. Fundamentals of moral reasoning are discussed, and the realities of interaction with a judicial system that subjects the psychologist to a variety of pressures and limitations are made apparent. The aim is not to offer final answers to complex ethical questions, but rather to provide a framework within which the questions can be considered by the individual psychologist.The conference on ethics of expert testimony by experimental psychologists was supported by National Science Foundation grant No. ISP-8209940. We thank Rachelle Hollander of the Ethics and Values in Science and Technology Program, Joe Young of the Memory and Cognitive Processes Program, and Eric Juengst of the National Endowment for the Humanities for their help in bringing about the conference.     

Child witnesses in criminal court

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic rise in public and professional concern regarding the special needs of children as witnesses in the court setting. This study was conducted to examine characteristics of criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses that were adjudicated through a trial conviction, trial acquittal, or guilty plea, from among cases that went to court in a 12-month period in nine judicial circuits in three states. Three hundred sixteen criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses were examined. The vast majority, of these cases involved sexual crimes against children. The results indicated that relatively few (16.8%) adjudicated cases were resolved through a trial proceeding. Sentencing varied from state to state and as a function of the disposition of the case. Future research should be conducted prospectively to determine (a) whether cases involving children as witnesses in criminal court are prosecuted at lower rates than cases involving adults and (b) the reasons that cases leave the criminal justice system prior to any court actions.This research was supported by State Justice Institute grant No. 88-11J-D-064. Points of view or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute.     

Trial court decision in Houle case

The plaintiffs in this case, a hospital and an attending physician, petitioned the court to exercise its parens patriae authority when the parents of a newborn with multiple birth defects refused to consent to surgery that would permit normal feeding and respiration. Basing his decision on the medical necessity and feasibility of the proposed treatments and setting aside the issue of the infant's quality of life, Justice David G. Roberts of the Superior Court ruled that the parents had no right to withhold care from their child. He authorized the infant's guardian ad litem to consent to surgery and other standard life-preserving measures that were immediately necessary, retaining jurisdiction for the court over future developments in the case.