As reported in our Chans advice/170 dated 27/2/2015, the English High Court on 14/10/2014 held CSAV’s bill of lading’s English jurisdiction clause as an exclusive jurisdiction clause. On 23/4/2015, the English Court of Appeal issued its Judgment reaching the same conclusion. [Neutral Citation No: 2015 EWCA Civ 401, Case No: A3/2014/3584]
CSAV’s bills of lading contain the following clause:
“23 Law and jurisdiction This Bill of Lading and any claim or dispute arising hereunder shall be subject to English law and the jurisdiction of the English High Court of Justice in London. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, any proceedings are commenced in another jurisdiction, such proceeding shall be referred to ordinary courts of law. In the case of Chile, arbitrators shall not be competent to deal with any such dispute and proceedings shall be referred to the Chilean Ordinary Courts”.
It is common ground that, as a matter of Chilean law, the third sentence is void.
The Court of Appeal came to the conclusion for the following reasons.
First, the words “shall be subject to” are imperative and directory. They are not words which are apt simply to provide an option. That is certainly the case in relation to the applicable law and, prima facie, the same should be so in relation to jurisdiction. In Svendborg the words “In all other cases this Bill of Lading is subject to English law and jurisdiction” were held to provide for exclusive jurisdiction. The phrase “This Bill of Lading and any claim or dispute arising hereunder shall be subject to English law and jurisdiction” is, for this purpose, stronger. This is not wording which does no more than indicate consent or agreement to English jurisdiction. It is transitive in the sense that the parties agree to submit all disputes to the English court, rather than submitting themselves to its jurisdiction if that jurisdiction is invoked: see, in this respect, Continental Bank N.A. v Aeakos Compania Naviera S.A. [1994] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 505, where such an approach was taken in respect of a clause which read “Each of the Borrowers … irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of the English Courts”; and where Steyn LJ (as he then was) said that “it would be a surrender to formalism to require a jurisdiction clause to provide in express terms that the chosen Court is to be the exclusive forum”. Consistently with this analysis, in Konkola Copper Mines plc v Coromin [2005] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 55 Colman J interpreted the words “This policy is subject to Zambian law, practice and jurisdiction”, if standing alone, as signifying that all parties were to refer all disputes to the Zambian courts and not merely to consent to such jurisdiction should it be invoked. See also Austrian Lloyd Steamship Co v Gresham Life Assurance Society Ltd [1903] 1 KB 249 where an agreement to submit all disputes arising out of a contract of insurance to the jurisdiction of the courts of Budapest having jurisdiction in such matters was held by Romer LJ to be an exclusive jurisdiction agreement. He pointed out that if there had been an agreement in similar terms to submit to the decision of a particular individual there could have been no doubt that it would have amounted to an agreement to submit any dispute to the arbitration of that person.
Second, whilst the Court of Appeal accepted (i) that a non-exclusive English jurisdiction clause is not worthless or otiose even when there is express provision for English law, and (ii) that there can, generally speaking, be only one law governing the contract but that there can be more than one court having jurisdiction over disputes, the natural commercial purpose of a clause such as the one in question is to stipulate (a) what law will govern; and (b) which court will be the court having jurisdiction over any dispute. If “shall be subject to” makes English law mandatory (as it does) the parties must be taken to have intended (absent any convincing reason to the contrary) that the same should apply to English jurisdiction. In a case such as the one in question, there is only limited benefit in specifying England as an optional jurisdiction without any obligation on either party to litigate in England. The number of courts that might have jurisdiction over a dispute between the bill of lading holder and the owners is at least as large as the range of countries in which cargo may be loaded, transhipped, or discharged, and might include the country where the bill of lading contract was made or that of the ship’s flag. Some of these countries are likely not to apply English Law, despite clause 23, if their jurisdiction is invoked. Some might apply it in an idiosyncratic way. Which court a claimant might select could not, itself, be predicted with any certainty. In those circumstances it makes little commercial sense to add England as an optional additional court, but without any obligation on either party to litigate in England; and there was every reason to think that when the parties were agreed that claims and disputes should be determined by the English High Court, by necessary inference they were agreeing that they should not be determined elsewhere. That would make good commercial sense. The Court of Appeal took some account of the fact that the terms of the bill of lading will apply not only to the bills of lading in question, but to the many other bills which CSAV will issue to other shippers. The Court of Appeal regarded that as a relevant consideration. A reasonable person would realise that the clause was intended for widespread use by CSAV for many different shipments.
Third, there is obvious sense in making both English law and English jurisdiction mandatory. Whilst foreign courts may (but will not necessarily) apply English law if that is what the parties have agreed, England is the best forum for the application of its own law.
Fourth, the use of the phrase “If notwithstanding the foregoing, any proceedings are commenced in another jurisdiction” in the second sentence is a recognition that the first sentence requires litigation in England as a matter of contract. The Court of Appeal did not regard it as realistic to interpret it as meaning “notwithstanding that advantage is not taken of the option for English jurisdiction”. If the first sentence made English jurisdiction optional, the phrase “notwithstanding the foregoing” would be unnecessary. The Court of Appeal would treat the phrase as if the clause read “If notwithstanding the parties’ agreement that all claims or disputes arising under the bill of lading shall be determined in accordance with English law and by the English High Court”.
Fifth, the second and third sentences of the clause cover a situation where the first sentence is ineffective e.g. because of the application of the Hamburg Rules (as in Chile and elsewhere) or where the country whose jurisdiction is invoked does not recognise the intended effect of an exclusive jurisdiction clause as in China or, in some circumstances, Canada: OT Africa Line v Magic Sportswear [2004] EWHC 2441 (Comm) – see section 46 (1) of the Canadian Maritime Liability Act. They provide that, in that event, the proceedings are at least to be before the ordinary courts – ineffective although that provision is in Chile.
Sixth, it did not seem to the Court of Appeal that much assistance in the interpretation of this clause is – as Hin-Pro contended – to be derived from the contra proferentem rule. That rule has been said to have limited application in the interpretation of ordinary commercial contracts. In K/S Victoria Street v House of Fraser (Stores Management) Limited [2012] Ch 497 Lord Neuberger MR observed at [68], in a case of a negotiated contract, that “such rules are rarely if ever of any assistance when it comes to construing commercial contracts” and that “the words used, commercial sense, and the documentary and factual context are, and should be, normally enough to determine the meaning of a contractual provision”. There are, however, observations in other cases that indicate that the principle may “still sometimes be of assistance when construing a contract which is in the standard form of one of the parties”; per Neuberger LJ in Taylor v River Droitte Music Ltd [2006] EWCA Civ 1300 at [142] and per Lewison LJ in SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Limited [2013] EWCA Civ 1482 at [108] (“…the licence agreement is offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis…There is no room for negotiation. If there were any doubt about the meaning of the licence at this stage in my judgment the application of the contra proferentem principle would tip the balance in WPL’s favour. In my judgment the judge was wrong to rule out the principle at an early stage in his analysis”). In Tam Wing Chuen v Bank of Credit and Commerce Hong Kong Ltd [1996] BCC 388, 394 Lord Mustill observed that “the basis of the contra proferentem principle is that a person, who puts forward the wording of a proposed agreement may be assumed to have looked after his own interests, so that if the words leave room for doubt about whether he is intended to have a particular benefit there is reason to suppose that he is not”. The rule has not so far featured in any of the authorities which consider whether a jurisdiction clause was exclusive or non-exclusive. The rule invites a construction adverse to the proferens where the clause is ambiguous. It did not seem to the Court of Appeal that clause 23 is of that character. If that be too strong a view, it would, in the Court of Appeal’s judgment, be necessary to assess whether, when the contract was made, a requirement of English jurisdiction was more favourable to CSAV than a non exclusive clause: see the dissenting judgment of Cote J in the Canadian case of Crawford v Morrow [2004] ABCA 150 at [68-69] – cited with approval in Lewison on The Interpretation of Contracts (5th Ed) at 7.08 – where he said:
“… If the doctrine does apply, it tells the Court to select one of the two possible interpretations of the contract, the one less favourable to the party who drafted the contract. That refers to selecting one interpretation of the contract, not selecting one result of the suit. The proper interpretation of the contract must exist at the time it is made, and not change. It cannot come and go as the parties’ fortunes wax and wane. It cannot be unknowable and shrouded in fog until after the event. For example one interprets an insurance contract the same way before and after a fire, and it has meaning before any fire”.
That assessment seemed to the Court of Appeal a very difficult task which admits of no clear answer, given that the circumstances of any putative litigation (both as to the identity of the claimant, the facts of the claim and the defence to it and the possible alternative jurisdiction) would be unknown. It would, also, beg the question as to what was meant by “favour” in this context. If the question is which court would be most likely to apply the relevant law correctly, the answer would be England. That characteristic would be of benefit to both parties. If the question was which court would be quicker, cheaper or involve the parties in less expense (e.g. in being represented and securing the availability of evidence) the answer might well be unclear, and differ according to whose interests were under consideration. Hin-Pro submitted that CSAV, which introduced the clause, must have thought that it would be for its benefit. But it was unlikely to be of benefit to CSAV’s customers unless they were based in England, and for small size customers litigation in England would be a very real and, quite possibly, major inconvenience. This would be particularly so if their claim was a modest one. Most claims would be likely to be against CSAV, which would probably not need to resort to litigation since freight would either be prepaid or, if it was not, they would have a lien for it. In truth, as it seemed to the Court of Appeal, the clause binds and benefits both parties in the same or, at any rate, a similar way. The benefit of the clause is that it provides certainty and the selection of a court which will be neutral and which will be applying its own law. Whether in relation to any given claim the stipulation of English jurisdiction benefits one party or the other will depend on the nature of the case brought and by whom it is put forward. In some cases the shipper or person entitled to sue under the bills will be disadvantaged; in others it will be CSAV. Even if the preponderance of advantage (whether looked at in relation to the particular voyage the subject of an individual bill or in relation to the totality of voyages carried out by CSAV) is with CSAV, the Court of Appeal would not regard that as a good enough reason to treat the clause as non exclusive.
Seventh, whilst the Court of Appeal accepted (i) that authorities in relation to different provisions in different contracts are, at best a guide; (ii) that the result in other cases is of no binding force in relation to a different clause; and (iii) that the question is one of construction and nothing more, the tenor of English authorities is that an agreement to English law and jurisdiction in this form is likely to be interpreted as involving both the mandatory application of English law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English court: see The Alexandros T [2012] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 162 and the authorities there cited. The Court of Appeal recognized that the suggestion in some of the authorities that an agreement to non-exclusive English jurisdiction is otiose if English law is agreed to apply, is misplaced. But the other considerations that have led to the result in earlier authorities are not; and the tendency to construing clauses such as the one in question as exclusive provides some confirmation of what view the reasonable businessman would take.
For the above reasons, the Court of Appeal would dismiss Hin-Pro’s appeal.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or you would like to have a copy of the Judgment.
23/F, Excel Centre, 483A Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong 香港九龍荔枝角青山道483A卓匯中心23樓 Tel: 2299 5566 Fax: 2866 7096 E-mail: gm@smicsl.com Website: www.sun-mobility.com A MEMBER OF THE HONG KONG CONFEDERATION OF INSURANCE BROKERS 香港保險顧問聯會會員
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The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 21/7/2014 discharging a Mareva injunction in relation to a cargo misdelivery claim of about US$12 million. [HCA 2368/2012]
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The Ningbo Maritime Court issued a Judgment on 25/5/2016, and dismissed a cargo insurer’s (PICC Ningbo) recovery claim of USD25,238.40 against Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (“MOSK”) in relation to the vessel MOL Comfort sinking into the Indian Ocean on 17/6/2013.
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We reported in our Chans advice/252 that the Hong Kong High Court held Hyundai Hong Kong’s ex-Deputy General Manager (Mr Ma) liable to compensate HK$387,655,303.70 to Hyundai Hong Kong in the case of his theft of his employer’s money. On 23 December 2022, the Hong Kong High Court issued a decision ordering a sum of HK$500,000 (which was deposited by Mr Ma as bail money) to be released to Hyundai Hong Kong in partial satisfaction of Mr Ma’s judgment debt. [HCA 619/2016] [2022 HKCFI 3798]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal on 1 December 2021 allowed a charterer’s appeal against a High Court’s Decision dated 13 April 2021 (which disallowed the charterer’s charter hire claims of US$234,955 against the shipowner because the High Court was not satisfied the claims were well founded). [CACV 294/2021] [2021 HKCA 1865]
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The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 9/4/2018 dealing with a cargo total loss case in which a NVOC in Malta was wrongly sued (because it had the same name as that of the correct NVOC in BVI). [HCAJ 65/2016], [2018 HKCFI 699]
In the issue of our Chans advice last month, we talked about the major provisions of the Montreal Convention (which is for the international carriage of goods by air). In this issue, we would like to discuss the major terms of an equally important international convention for the international carriage of goods by sea, viz. the Hague Visby Rules.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 4 March 2020 dismissing a shipowner’s application for a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration in a case of cargo misdelivery without presentation of original bill of lading. [HCAJ 5/2019] [2020 HKCFI 375]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 3/2/2012 concerning which currency (US$ or Euro) should be the proper one for the cargo owners in a shipment to claim against the forwarder for compensation in a cargo damage case. [HCAJ 152/2010]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 11/12/2013 holding that a Hong Kong plaintiff needed to put up a security for costs in a court case concerning a yacht sinking incident. [HCCL 5/2013]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 25 February 2019 dealing with Changhong Group’s delayed application for leave to appeal in relation to the collision case reported in our Chans advice/218 and Chans advice/215. [HCAJ3/2018, 2019HKCFI542]
Are Standard Trading Conditions (“STC”) equivalent to the House Bill of Lading (“HB/L”) terms or the House Air Waybill (“HAWB”) terms? We have been frequently asked this question by our forwarder clients.
Remember our Chans advice/112 that the Hong Kong High Court held the Rotterdam terminal liable to pay the cargo value of €950,071.20 for the misdelivery of one container of Sony Play Stations? On 2/4/2013, Judge To of the Hong Kong High Court issued another Judgment holding that the forwarder was entitled to limit its liability to US$24,392 in accordance with its B/L terms. [HCAJ 106/2008]
Remember our Chans advice/163 about the English High Court’s Judgment holding the Hague Visby Rules instead of the Hague Rules to apply to the cargo damage claim case in excess of US$3.6 million? The English Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 24/2/2016 upholding the High Court’s conclusion but with different reasons. [Case No: A3/2014/1285, 2016 EWCA Civ 101, 2016 WL 00692394]
In the last issue of Chans advice, we reported the case that the Hong Kong Court of Appeal rejected the mortgagee’s appeal against the High Court’s order of granting a stay until 24 April 2019 for the sale of the Vessel Brightoil Glory. On 17 May 2019, the Court of Appeal issued another judgment refusing the shipowners’ appeal in respect of their application for a further stay of the sale of the Vessel until 22 May 2019. [CAMP81/2019] [2019 HKCA 561]
In our newsletter last month, we talked about some essential terms in house Air Waybills. In this issue, as the continuation of the loss prevention exercise for freight forwarders, we would like to discuss some essential terms in house Bills of Lading.
More and more junior staff of the banks insist all the Bills of Lading to be signed and issued with the above remark “As agent for the Carrier”. This is of course right if the concerned Carrier does not have its own office in the place of issuing the Bill of Lading and therefore instruct its agent there to issue the Carrier’s Bill of Lading.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 11 January 2019 dealing with a dispute of US$335,858.31 between a bunker supplier and a ship agent. [HCA119/2015] [2019HKCFI57]
We refer to our Chans advice/251 last month reporting the Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Mr Ma (Hyundai Hong Kong’s former deputy general manager) to 15 years’ imprisonment. The High Court issued another Judgment on 27 April 2022 holding Mr Ma liable to compensate HK$387,655,303.70 to Hyundai Hong Kong. [HCA 619/2016] [2022 HKCFI 1153]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 30 September 2021 holding a shipowner’s Defences as an abuse of process in a case of unpaid crew wages. [HCAJ 76/2020] [2021 HKCFI 2961] [HCAJ 91/2020]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 9/5/2017 allowing a time extension for some cargo interests to claim against the Tonnage Limitation Fund constituted by the owner of one of the two vessels involved in a collision that happened on 7/11/2013. [HCAJ 189/2013]
The Hong Kong District Court issued a Decision on 8 May 2020 upholding a summary judgment ordering one forwarder to pay outstanding airfreight charges of HK$440,000 to another forwarder. [DCCJ1202/2018] [2020HKDC307]
In our last issue of Chans advice/253, the Hong Kong District Court’s judgment dated 26 April 2022 mentioned a case authority of China Ocean v Mitrans Shipping. We would like to discuss this judgment dated 11 July 1995 of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal in our Chans advice this month. [1995 No. 71 Civil]
While the MOL Comfort incident was a disaster widely talked about among forwarders, all who suffered loss without exception will try whatever means to recover their losses down the line wherever the legal regimes permit.
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment [CACV144/2017] [2018HKCA299] on 29/6/2018 upholding the High Court’s Judgment dated 2/6/2017 (which was reported in our Chans advice/201).
The Hong Kong High Court issued a decision on 11/9/2013 concerning a shipowner’s application to extend the validity of a writ of summons against a Taiwan hull and machinery insurer. [HCAJ 95/2012]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a decision on 31 May 2022 ordering a South Korean shipowner to provide a Hong Kong shipowner with security for costs in the amount of HK$600,000 in relation to a ship collision case that happened in Hong Kong during the super typhoon Hato in August 2017. [HCAJ 80-85/2019] [2022 HKCFI 1631]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 29/1/2016 dealing with a case of one or two days’ delay in appeal in relation to a barge sinking accident. [HCMP 3172/2015]
The Shanghai Maritime Court issued a Judgment on 24/12/2009 to deal with the question whether a shipping company could charge the container demurrage based on the tariff published on its website.
The Hong Kong District Court issued a Judgment on 8/4/2014 holding that the one year’s suit time limit under the Hague Visby Rules does not apply to the carrier’s claims against the shipper. [DCCJ 4438/2013]
In our Chans advice/169 last month, we mentioned the English Court’s Judgment dated 14/10/2014 holding CSAV’s bill of lading’s English jurisdiction clause to be an exclusive jurisdiction clause. In this issue, let’s look at that English High Court Judgment [2013 Folio No 1248, 2014 EWHC 3632 Comm, 2014 WL 5113447] issued by Justice Cooke in detail.
To continue our recent series of loss prevention articles, we would like to discuss in this issue the major provisions of the PRC Maritime Code as far as the international carriage of goods by sea is concerned.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 11 May 2021 staying a South Korea container terminal’s legal action in Hong Kong with respect to its allision claims of more than US$90,000,000 against the owners of a container ship. [HCAJ 31/2020] [2021 HKCFI 1283]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 18/11/2016 dismissing a shipping company’s application for summary judgment against its former deputy general manager (Mr Ma) for restitution of the sum of HK$387,655,303.70 on the ground of money had and received and/or unjust enrichment. [HCA 619/2016]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Decision on 23 May 2018 allowing a shipowner to be represented by 2 different firms of solicitors (one appointed by its hull underwriters and the other appointed by its P&I Club). [HCAJ84/2017] [2018HKCFI1136]
SMIC has finally jumped on the bandwagon of the cyber media rush by its presence on the Facebook. We would have done this for a long time had it not been for the daily chores and that we were then not too convinced of its value in the commercial world. Thereafter, it becomes obvious that more and more firms are capitalizing on this new media; and unlike the old economies where information flow was imperfect, consumers of the new economies tend to prefer looking up for information by themselves from the web, or augmenting information they are given.
We recently have received a lot of uncollected cargo claim cases from our forwarder clients, which have kept our 6 claim handlers very busy. We would like to take this opportunity to talk about this troublesome problem of uncollected cargoes. Actually, the forwarders have been facing this real headache in at least these two decades.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 20/12/2017 dealing with a dispute of US$948,802.05 (as the price of bunkers supplied to a vessel) between a vessel charterer and a bunker supplier. [HCA2265/2016]
The English High Court issued a Judgment on 2/4/2014 holding the Hague Visby Rules instead of the Hague Rules (as incorporated by a Paramount Clause) to apply to a shipment ex Belgium. [Case No: 2012 Folio 102, 2014 EWHC 971 Comm, 2014 WL 1219313]
The 12th annual SMIC seminar on uncollected cargoes pulled some 300 participants to attend with much curiosity for 3 hours in the YMCA Assembly Hall. The accumulated questionmarks and enigmas about the subject matter lurking in the trade were unleashed among the audiences.
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 22/5/2017 holding that the District Court has jurisdiction to determine bill of lading and bailment cases. [HCAJ 150/2014]
Cargo Misdelivery The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 12/1/2016 refusing to grant a shipowner an anti-suit injunction because of the shipowner’s delay in applying for the anti-suit injunction. [HCMP 2399/2015] By an Originating Summons dated 25/9/2015 (“OS”), the owner of the vessel MV Zagora (“Vessel”) applied for an anti-suit injunction against a […]
Without even knowing, we have published including this one 200 issues of the Chans Advice. As this is a monthly bulletin, 100 issues took more than 8 years and 200 issues took 17 years to run.
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 17/7/2014 holding a Hong Kong forwarder liable to pay US$852,339 plus costs and interest (as damages for conversion) to an Indian bank in an air cargo misdelivery case. [CACV 282/2012]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a judgment on 21/4/2016 and disallowed a cargo owner’s application for summary judgment against a forwarder in connection with a cargo (a diamond) missing claim of US$900,000. [HCCL 10/2015]
The Hong Kong District Court issued a Decision on 30 April 2021 dealing with a personal injury case in relation to a container terminal. [DCPI 110/2020] [2021 HKDC 463]
On 12/4/2017, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed an application made by a cargo owner for stay of proceedings commenced by two forwarders in relation to an uncollected cargo case. [HCA 1927/2016]
In Chans advice/14 dated 28/2/2002, we discussed this topic 15 years ago. In its Judgment dated 16/10/2017, the District Court of New South Wales in Australia had to deal with, inter alia, a malpractice that a forwarder issued its own house B/Ls but signed off with as agent for China Ocean Shipping, Pacific International Lines, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Limited or Orient Overseas Container Line without authority. [2017 NSWDC 279]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 4 October 2019 upholding the High Court’s Decision dated 9 April 2018 (reported in our Chans advice/208). [CACV593/2018][2019HKCA1101]
The English High Court issued a Judgment on 31/7/2015 dismissing a cargo owner’s conversion claim US $565,891.58 against a shipowner in an uncollected cargo case. [(2015) EWHC 2288 (Comm), (2015) 2 C.L.C. 415]
Remember our Chans advice/165 (reporting the Hong Kong Court of Appeal holding the Hong Kong forwarder liable to pay US$852,339 plus costs and interest to the Indian bank in the air cargo misdelivery case)? On 19/5/2016, the Court of Final Appeal dismissed the Hong Kong forwarder’s application for seeking leave to appeal. [FAMV Nos 45 & 52 of 2015]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Decision on 21/9/2017 dealing with the principles in respect of the real risk of dissipation of assets in a case of Mareva Injunction involving a shipowner and a charterer. [HCMP 1010/2017]
In our Chans advice/244, we reported the Hong Kong High Court case [HCA937/2016] [2021 HKCFI 2310] that the forwarder was held liable to pay nominal damages of HKD1,000 to the shipper in the cargo misdelivery claim of USD1,299,189.87. On 20 October 2021, the Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on Costs holding the shipper liable to pay the costs of the forwarder. [2021 HKCFI 3021]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 3/2/2017 holding Natural Dairy liable to pay HK$4,360,948.38 to Schenker being the outstanding freight charges. In the Judgment, the Judge also explained the principles regarding the meaning of notice of the forwarder’s standard trading conditions. [HCA 1755/2011].
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 22 January 2021 dealing with an appeal against a Small Claims Tribunal’s award concerning a dispute over a container terminal’s storage charges. [HCSA 44/2020] [2021 HKCFI 200]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 20 February 2019 dismissing Changhong Group’s appeal against the High Court’s Decision of 15 November 2018 (reported in Chans advice/215) because Changhong Group had not obtained leave to appeal from the Hong Kong High Court. [CACV576/2018] [2019HKCA246]
The amendment to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 Chapter VI, Regulation 2 in respect of the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo (laden container) is for entry into force globally on 1 July 2016.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision As To Costs on 5 December 2024 ordering a shipowner (which lost in an anti-suit injunction court case) to pay the winning party’s (a cargo owner) costs on an indemnity basis. HCCT 66/2024 [2024 HKCFI 3511]
