Ministry of Finance proposes transferring appeals powers to courts

The Bermuda Ministry of Finance (MinFin) and the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) have released a consultation paper related to proposed changes to its appeal tribunal framework for financial institutions regulated by the BMA.

Under the proposals, matters which fall under the remit of the Minister of Finance will in future be transferred to the court for consideration, with appeal tribunal regulations to be established for each regulatory act as required.

Matters related to the notice periods, the determination of an appeal and decision-making powers  will remain largely unchanged, the BMA and MinFin said, except for the references to MinFin and the documents required to be filed with the Registrar of the Court.

Additional changes will be required to address matters related to costs, procedures and evidence. Further appeals on a point of law shall remain with the Court of Appeal.

MinFin acknowledged that the change will impact both the BMA and the courts, particularly in the areas of oversight and implementation, but argued the change would reduce costs and thereby improve the regulatory environment.

“By repositioning the framework in the manner outlined, those who should be held to account for particular regulatory actions or failures, should be clear to the public, industry and politicians,” it said. “In this case, the fundamental consideration should be the clarity of regulatory resolution processes as opposed to the withdrawal of MinFin from the enforcement process.”

FinMin and BMA invited feedback from financial institutions by July 2, 2021.