Description
On 1 July, 2021, the Law Reform Commission resolved to examine whether the doctrine of adverse possession should be retained in the Cayman Islands. This followed an initial consideration of reform initiatives in the United Kingdom and other common law jurisdictions that sought to restrict or abolish
the doctrine and a preliminary review of the history, purpose, and relevance of the existing legislative framework.
Terms of Reference
The Commission undertook a comprehensive review of the law of adverse possession in the Cayman Islands to assess whether reform is necessary and, if so, the shape that reform should take. The review focused on the following areas –
a) the historical development and current legal framework governing adverse possession;
b) the justifications for the doctrine; and
c) comparative analysis of reforms in other common law jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Bermuda and Barbados.
Outcomes
On 24 July, 2023, the Commission published a Discussion Paper titled “Adverse Possession” and invited public consultation. The consultation period commenced on 24 July, 2023 and concluded on 27 October, 2023.
Following its review of consultation feedback, the Commission prepared its Final Report dated 10 March, 2025. In the Report, the Commission concluded that there remains a limited role for the doctrine of adverse possession in the Cayman Islands land system. However, the law should be modernised so
that the application of adverse possession is limited to a narrow set of circumstances that merit its retention to better align with principles of certainty in land ownership.
The Final Report recommended amendments to the Registered Land Act (2018 Revision) to disapply the limitation periods for recovery of registered land under section 19 of the Limitation Act (1996 Revision) and replace the previous procedure for claiming title by possession. These reforms are encapsulated in the Registered Land (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was submitted to the Honourable Attorney General along with the Final Report.
Publications