There is no specific legislation regarding consumer protection in the Cayman Islands. There are some provisions within the Sale of Goods Act (1997 Revision) (the "Act") that deal with the interactions between buyer and seller in relation to goods.

A consultation draft of a Consumer Protection and Guarantees Bill was published in 2017 but has not been brought into force to date.

Under the Act there is a definition of a buyer which is as follows: "A person who buys or agrees to buy goods or to hire them upon an agreement of hire-purchase"

Under the Act, "goods" includes all chattels personal other than things in action and money. Goods also include emblements, industrial growing crops and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale.

Yes, the Act provides that in certain circumstances, there are implied rights or conditions in contracts of sale including:

1. An implied warranty that the goods are free of charge or encumbrance;
2. Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied condition that the goods shall correspond with the description;
3. Where the seller sells goods in the course of business, there is an implied condition that the goods supplied under the contract are of merchantable quality, except that there is no such condition — (a) as regards defects specifically drawn to the buyer's attention before the contract is made; or (b) if the buyer examines the goods before the contract is made, as regards defects which that examination ought to reveal;
4. Where goods are delivered to the buyer, which he has not previously examined, he is not deemed to have accepted them unless and until he has had a reasonable opportunity to examine them for the purpose of ascertaining whether they conform with the contract

Yes, under Part IV – Performance of the Contract, the Act lists the duties of seller and buyer in section 28. The only duty of the buyer under that section is to accept and pay for the goods by the terms of the contract of sale.

Section 29 indicates that unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the buyer must pay the price in exchange for possession of the goods – these are concurrent conditions.

No, there is no specific authority responsible for enforcing the Act. The Act regulates the relationship between buyer and seller.

No.

The Act does not specify minimum prescribed information. Generally, the buyer is expected to make their inquiries or inspection of the goods ("Caveat emptor").

Yes, the Act implies warranties in contracts for the sale of goods/ products. Key implied warranties are:

• the buyer will enjoy quiet possession of goods free of charge or encumbrance, except as known or disclosed to the buyer (s. 13); and
• goods supplied under contract will be of merchantable quality (s. 15).

These implied warranties may be varied or excluded by express agreement between the buyer and seller (s. 55).

There is no specific legislation in relation to services. However, consumers are still also afforded general common law protections in contract and tort in relation to damage arising from the supply of defective goods or services.

Yes, the Act creates certain warranties which are said to be implied as a matter of contractual law in certain circumstances, including:

• if there is a contract for the sale of goods by description or sample there is an implied condition that the goods shall correspond with the description or sample (ss. 14 & 16); and
• where the buyer discloses that goods are being purchased for a specific purpose the goods shall be fit for that disclosed purpose (s. 15).

Further, the Price Gouging Act (2015 Revision) prevents increases in prices for commodities during a period of emergency (which includes periods of tropical storm or hurricane watch).

The consumer may bring a claim for any breach of contract or breach of duty (e.g. negligence).

No, there is no specific judicial action a consumer may take. Consumer claims are brought in the normal way by issue of a writ.

Consumer claims are brought in the normal way by issue of a writ.

Although both compensatory and punitive damages may be awarded by the court, punitive (more often termed aggravated or exemplary) damages are only awarded in exceptional circumstances, and as such are rare.

Yes.

A claimant may bring a claim on behalf of others with the same interests. The action is known as a representative action in the Cayman Islands.

Whilst not entirely unknown (for example, unit holders in property development have previously sought to bring a representative action in relation to a common claim) these are extremely rare and have not been utilized in a consumer context.

The counterparty to a contract (i.e. the party that sold the buyer the goods or services) will ordinarily be the party liable

No, there is no specific consumer protection authority with these powers.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Yes, the Electronic Transactions Act (2003 Revision) (the "ETA") has provisions regarding e-commerce.

The ETA defines an e-commerce service provider as a person who uses electronic means in providing real or personal property, services or information.

At s.32 the ETA deals with the issue of liability of e-commerce service providers in proceedings arising out of the processing of an electronic record by means of a provider's system.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Yes, there is a specific regime for the purchase and sale of virtual assets. The Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (2022 Revision) ("VASP Act") provides a registration and licensing regime for any person carrying on a "virtual asset service" in the course of a business using a Cayman Islands entity or otherwise from within the Cayman Islands. Such persons are called "virtual asset service providers" ("VASPs").

A "virtual asset service" means the issuance of virtual assets or the business of providing one or more of the following services or operations for or on behalf of another person:

1. exchange between virtual assets and fiat currencies;
2. exchange between one or more other forms of convertible virtual assets;
3. transfer of virtual assets;
4. virtual asset custody service; or
5. participation in, and provision of, financial services related to a virtual asset issuance or the sale of a virtual asset.

The sale of newly created virtual assets to the public, in exchange for some form of consideration, is also included in the definition of a virtual asset service. This means that although certain kinds of non-public issuances (such as employee or intra-group issuances or private sales) should not be regulated, a person must be registered if they issue virtual assets to the public using a Cayman Islands vehicle.

Yes, there are some specific regulatory measures in relation to the promotion of financial services. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") has a Marketing Policy applying to licensees.

This states that:

1. CIMA expects all licensees to refrain from the use of aggressive marketing policies based exclusively, or primarily, on confidentiality or secrecy to attract business.
2. CIMA expects all licensees to demonstrate a high level of responsibility in the marketing of all of their services. CIMA recognizes that the reputation of the jurisdiction is sensitive to how service providers market their services.

Yes, the scope of the VASP Act is expected to expand during 2023 to include a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers, as well as registration.