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Conflict of laws – Jurisdiction. The claimants brought a claim against the defendants for sums due under a facility agreement and related agreements. The agreements contained non-exclusive English jurisdiction clauses with forum non conveniens (FNC) waivers, whereby the parties waived any objection they might have to the venue of any proceedings. The defendants applied for a stay of the proceedings on the ground that England was not the most appropriate forum. The issue was whether an FNC waiver in the agreements precluded an application for a stay on forum non conveniens grounds. The Commercial Court, in dismissing the applications, held that, a court could grant a stay, even where there was an forum non conveniens waiver with a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause, if very strong or exceptional grounds for granting a stay were demonstrated, provided that those grounds had been unforeseeable at the time the agreement had been made. However, there were no exceptional reasons for granting a stay on FNC grounds in the present case and there had been no abuse of process.
Conflict of laws – Jurisdiction. The claimants brought a claim against the defendants for sums due under a facility agreement and related agreements. The agreements contained non-exclusive English jurisdiction clauses with forum non conveniens (FNC) waivers, whereby the parties waived any objection they might have to the venue of any proceedings. The defendants applied for a stay of the proceedings on the ground that England was not the most appropriate forum. The issue was whether an FNC waiver in the agreements precluded an application for a stay on forum non conveniens grounds. The Commercial Court, in dismissing the applications, held that, a court could grant a stay, even where there was an forum non conveniens waiver with a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause, if very strong or exceptional grounds for granting a stay were demonstrated, provided that those grounds had been unforeseeable at the time the agreement had been made. However, there were no exceptional reasons for granting a stay on FNC grounds in the present case and there had been no abuse of process.
The age of criminal responsibility, extreme weather and conflict resolution – plus, new protocol for reporting bullying at the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP discusses her decade as a trade union and employment law barrister, the demands of life as a Law Officer and the number one priority shaping her work. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
At least not that way, says Richard Paige
