Mutual Legal Assistance (United States of America) (Amendment) Bill, 2026

Government bill, sponsored by the Portfolio of Legal Affairs (PLA)

✓
Gazetted
Published in the Gazette
✓
Introduced
30 September 2026
First appeared on the order paper
✓
Passed
5 October 2026
Third reading
Radio Cayman
4
Enacted
Awaiting assent and Gazette
5
In force

What this bill does

This bill changes who handles United States requests for legal assistance under the Cayman-US mutual legal assistance treaty, making the Attorney General the Cayman authority instead of the Chief Justice or a Grand Court judge. It also protects the authority from damages and costs claims unless it acted in bad faith, and updates the protections for people who disclose confidential information in answer to a request.

  • The Attorney General becomes the Cayman Mutual Legal Assistance Authority, replacing the Chief Justice or a designated judge
  • The Solicitor General and Director of Public Prosecutions must be notified of every request and may take part in resulting proceedings
  • The authority is not liable for damages, consequential loss or costs unless it acted in bad faith; costs awarded for hardship or unreasonable conduct are capped at CI$50,000
  • People who disclose confidential information or give testimony under a request commit no offence and face no civil claim for doing so; pending requests and proceedings continue under the old rules

Who it affects: Attorney General's office, Solicitor General, Director of Public Prosecutions, financial service providers and others holding information sought by US authorities

This summary is AI-generated from the official document and may contain errors; it is not legal advice. Always consult the source text below.

Official documents

Tracked automatically by the Daily.ky Legislative Tracker from parliament.ky, legislation.gov.ky, and the Cayman Islands Gazette. Status updates daily; this page's status banner refreshes live.