British Virgin Islands

• The Virgin Islands Constitution Order of 2007, the highest local law
• Acts of the House of Assembly, such as the BVI Business Companies Act, and English common law and equity
• Decisions of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Privy Council

• The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the final court
• The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court: the Court of Appeal and the High Court, with a commercial division
• The Magistrate's Court

A law degree and a legal education certificate, then admission by the High Court.

• Hundreds of thousands of companies are registered there, so its courts hear many cross-border business cases.
• The High Court has a commercial division for business disputes.
• The Governor has responsibility for external affairs, defence and the police.

Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists British Virgin Islands as: Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)
• Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.