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Perspective - Blog
Good Faith Clauses
There is no general doctrine of good faith in English law and it is not therefore implied into contracts.
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Perspective - Blog
JCT Insurance Options: what's the right fit for fit-out?
Where a tenant is fitting out premises within a multi-occupied building, the JCT's standard insurance options are not always appropriate and, left unaddressed, place unintended and severe risks on the tenant.
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Perspective - Blog
Government property, Kirstie and Phil style?
Ok, so Ms Allsopp and Mr Spencer haven’t quite been called in yet, but almost.
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Perspective - Blog
Is the Green Deal a great deal?
There is no denying the Green Deal has many advantages but consider the deal in relation to short term leases and it may not be as great as it initially seems.
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Perspective - Blog
NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract "Guidance Notes": more important than you realise for interpreting the ECC
Certain terms of the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract ('ECC') are open to interpretation, and the recent case of E-Nik Ltd v Department for Communities & Local Government [2012] EWHC 3027 (Comm) has cast into doubt whether even something as routine as VAT is crystal-clear under the ECC.
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Perspective - Blog
Development incentives – but at what cost?
In light of what is starting to appear to be a wholehearted failure to persuade local communities to meet requisite housing targets, Nick Boles last week proposed self-proclaimed "bungs" to local communities.
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Perspective - Blog
Leaving customers without signal: the task of re-building the Telecoms Code
Now almost 30 years old, the Electronic Communications Code (the 'Code'), falls far short of representing the needs of a swiftly developing communications network.
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Perspective - Blog
H&M: Brave New World?
We have all been involved in lease negotiations where there are differences of opinion as to what is or is not institutionally acceptable.
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Perspective - Blog
End of the line for Village Greens?
Nothing can be more frustrating for a developer to see its scheme delayed or worse still derailed by an application for the registration of land as a town or village green ("TVG").
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Profile
Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Spring 2024
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Winter 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Autumn 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Summer 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Spring 2023
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Snapshot
Snapshots Winter 2022
A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.
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Perspective - Blog
Lead market regulator's lawsuit includes professional advisers
In another significant development in the Securities and Futures Commission's (SFC) efforts to combat market misconduct-type activity involving listed shares in Hong Kong, the lead market regulator has commenced civil proceedings under Section 213 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap 571) in respect of China Forestry Holdings Co Ltd (in official liquidation). What makes the proceedings noteworthy is that besides naming the company and two of its directors as co-defendants, the regulator's civil complaint also names two co-sponsors and the auditor involved with the company's initial public offering (IPO) in 2009.(1)
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Perspective - Blog
The CAT's new approach: I can't afford a carriage (dispute)
Since the collective proceedings regime in the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) kicked off, a number of carriage disputes have arisen. So-called 'carriage disputes' arise when there are two or more competing proposed class representatives (PCRs) seeking certification (and therefore 'carriage') of overlapping class actions.
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Press and Media
The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024
International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.
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Perspective - Publication
False statements in a bill of lading and the indemnities to a master
This Article discusses the recent decision of the English Court of Appeal in the case of “TAI PRIZE” [2021] EWCA Civ 87 on the industry practice of Masters signing bills of lading containing statements about the condition of the cargo, the threshold of the Master's inspection, whether they amount to representations and the consequences of the statements turning out to be false.
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Perspective - Publication
Misrepresentation, inducement, reservation of rights, affirmation of contract, rescission and damages in lieu of rescission
This Article discusses the recent decision of the English High Court in the case of SK Shipping Europe LLC v (3) Capital VLCC 3 Corp (5) Capital Maritime and Trading Corp [2020] EWHC 3448 (COMM) and the lessons learnt from that case and its application under English law and Singapore law.
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Perspective - Blog
LOIs and liability for inducement of breach of contract
A recent Court of Appeal ruling highlights the risk to traders and, in particular, to their officers and employees personally, of giving/arranging a letter of indemnity to a carrier against liability arising out of delivery of goods without presentation of the bills of lading. This blog examines the risk of such arrangements giving rise to a liability on their part under the tort of procuring a breach of contract.
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Perspective - Blog
Letters of Credit under commodity contracts – keep the focus
This blog takes a look at the issues concerning the timing of the provision of letters of credit under commodity contracts and the importance, from both the buyer's and seller's perspective, of keeping an "eye on the ball".
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Perspective - Blog
Arbitration awards and fraud revisited
The English Court of Appeal has rejected a further attempt by the buyers of goods to set aside enforcement of a CIETAC arbitration award on grounds of fraud.
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Perspective - Blog
Sabotage at sea - The LADY M
In The LADY M, the English Commercial Court held that shipowners could rely on the Hague-Visby Rules fire defence even when the fire was set by the crew (without owners’ knowledge). In so doing, the admiralty concept of barratry received rare consideration by the Courts.
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Perspective - Blog
Commodity specification breach – can I reject?
A common question which arises in day to day commodity trading is whether a buyer can reject goods which do not meet the specifications set out in the contract. This blog discusses the factors which commonly come into play in determining that question.
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Perspective - Blog
Liability for commencement of approach voyage under voyage charters - absolute?
A recent judgment of the Commercial Court examines a novel point in respect of the obligation on an owner under a voyage charter to get the vessel to the load port when the charter contains a cancelling date but no expected readiness to load date or load port ETA.
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Perspective - Blog
Show me the money – turning liens into cash
Most charterparties give owners the right to lien cargo for unpaid hire or freight. However, it may be necessary to sell the cargo in order to obtain payment. The English Commercial Court has recently considered the circumstances in which it would be prepared to order the sale of cargo held under a shipowners' lien.
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Perspective - Blog
Odd but clear contract lines not to be disturbed by the Court
In a recent Commercial Court decision on the construction of a tailored demurrage provision in a charterparty, the Court refused to rewrite the parties agreement regarding demurrage merely because "it might be thought odd".
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Perspective - Blog
Know your (package) limitations
High Court decision clarifying application of the Hague-Visby Rules (HVR) to sea waybills and package limitation for containerised goods
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Perspective - Blog
I see no ships – condition precedents under FOB contracts
A recent judgment of the Commercial Court suggests that a FOB buyer can be excused from nominating a vessel by an unaccepted renunciation of contract by a seller. This blog questions the court's approach in this case and examines the basic principles engaged.
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Perspective - Blog
Payment against letters of indemnity – is it safe?
In the commodity trading world, it is traditional for payment to be made by the buyer against the presentation by the seller of certain shipping documents including bills of lading. That is the case whether payment is to be made under a letter of credit (LC) or by direct tender of documents to the buyer. However, a common practice has developed, particularly in the oil trade, for parties to agree in their contracts that the seller may, instead of presenting shipping documents to trigger payment, present a letter of indemnity instead. But there are risks to the buyer in paying against such letters of indemnity.
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Perspective - Blog
"NEW FLAMENCO" – Supreme Court reverses Court of Appeal
In a shock decision, the Supreme Court has allowed shipowners' appeal in the "NEW FLAMENCO". The Supreme Court held that the sale of the ship following the repudiation of the charterparty was not an act in mitigation, and was not relevant to the calculation of damages for breach of contract.
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Perspective - Blog
Pushing the (port) limits
The recent case of Navalmar UK Ltd v Kale Maden Hammaddeler Sanayi ve Ticaret AS [2017] EWHC 116 (Comm) essentially re-affirmed the principles set out in the well know case of The Joanna Oldendorff [1973] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 285, dealing with when a vessel was an arrived ship and what must be considered in deciding the limits of the port. However, as this case demonstrates, it remains a matter of fact as to whether a vessel is within the port limits or not.
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Perspective - Blog
"Fraud unravels all" – or does it?
The English Commercial Court has upheld the enforcement of a foreign arbitration award against a buyer of goods even though the seller submitted forged bills of lading under the letter of credit
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Perspective - Blog
Security for costs – be reasonable!
A recent Judgment in Hong Kong on a security for costs application reinforces the wide discretion of the Court as to the form and quantum of security which should be accepted
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Perspective - Blog
An acceptable degree of uncertainty
Certainty, we are told, is a good thing, as a matter of both legal principle and commercial common sense. Certainty means predictability, which companies and merchants value because it allows them to plan and make decisions in the knowledge of the likely outcomes. This has been a major feature of English commercial law since at least the time of Lord Mansfield.
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Perspective - Blog
Supreme Court clarifies the impact of a "collateral lie" made by an assured during the claims process
The Supreme Court has ruled that a lie told by an assured during the course of a claim presentation will not necessarily invalidate the assured's right to recover under his insurance.
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Perspective - Blog
Take it to the limit (but no further)
In a recent judgment handed down on 12 April 2016, the Hong Kong Admiralty Court examined whether or not crew members' acts or omissions could be regarded as a shipowner's personal acts or omissions for the purposes of breaking limitation under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 ("LLMC") [FN1].
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Perspective - Blog
What's in a name? Time Charter Trips explored
The time charter trip or "TCT" is a common hybrid, with attributes of both time and voyage charters.
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Perspective - Blog
Is arbitration stifling the common law?
Recent comments by the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales have reignited a debate over the balance between finality in arbitration and consideration of important points of law by the Courts.
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Perspective - Blog
Down in Flame(s)
What is the value of money? In a recent Commercial Court decision, it was held that the right to redirect the payment of money (or to give it away) is as valuable as the right to have the money paid into one's own bank account.
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Perspective - Blog
Keep your word! Hong Kong Court enforces indemnity for delivery of cargo without original bills
Shipowners are well aware of the perils of releasing cargo without production of an original bill of lading. In particular, they are likely to lose P&I cover in the event of a misdelivery claim.
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Perspective - Blog
Arbitrations and anti-suit injunctions – a Hong Kong perspective
In some jurisdictions (notably Mainland China and Australia), local law does not give effect to the incorporation of arbitration clauses into bills of lading.
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Perspective - Blog
The "NEW FLAMENCO" – back in step
Court of Appeal overturns High Court and holds that a 'capital' benefit obtained following the sale of a vessel on her early redelivery can reduce a damages claim for repudiatory breach of charterparty.
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Perspective - Blog
Speed & Consumption – good weather daze?
The High Court of England & Wales has overturned an arbitration Award in a rare appeal on a performance dispute[1].
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Perspective - Blog
Anti-suit injunctions – do not delay
The recent judgment of the English Commercial Court in Essar Shipping Ltd v Bank of China Ltd[1] has highlighted the importance of applying for anti-suit injunctions swiftly once the dispute arises.
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Perspective - Blog
Ballast Water Management Convention likely to come in 2016
Three countries, Monaco, Indonesia and Ghana, ratified the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, during the recent IMO Biennial Assembly Meeting, in London.
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Perspective - Blog
The "RES COGITANS" – still no relief for shipowners in OW Bunker saga
In an eagerly-awaited decision, the English Court of Appeal has unanimously upheld the conclusion of the Commercial Court (itself affirming a decision of London maritime arbitrators) that a bunker supply contract on the OW Bunker terms is not a "contract of sale of goods" to which the Sale of Goods 1979 Act applies[1].
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Perspective - Blog
Damages for repudiation of a voyage charter
The compensatory principle explored The High Court of England & Wales has reviewed the application of the standard compensatory principle in common law to voyage charters repudiated by their charterers, in an appeal from an arbitral Award[1].
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