International Commercial Law Case

Welcome to our international commercial law case section. We have provided these case notes to help you with your international commercial law essays and dissertations.

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AWB (Geneva) SA v North America Steamships Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 739

Jurisdiction – stay of proceedings where foreign court proceedings instituted

In this case the Court of Appeal held that proceedings should not be stayed pending the outcome of proceedings in Canada because the contract terms in dispute could have serious ramification for financial markets. The sooner the issues were determined the better. Thus, in cases where expediency is of paramount importance, a stay may not occur.

The ER Hamburg [2006] EWHC 483

Carriage of goods by sea – Hague-Visby Rules – Defence to duty to care for cargo – Art IV(2)(a)

Where damage is solely or primarily caused by a neglect to take reasonable care of the cargo, the ship is liable, but if the damage is caused by a failure to take reasonable care of the ship, the ship is not liable.

In this case the contract stated that the charterers were to load, stow and trim the cargo. The cargo was properly loaded and carried but was placed next to a tank used to contain bunker fuel. The cargo exploded, causing damage to the ship

In this case it was a complete defence for the ship owners that as the heating of the bunker oil was necessary to provide fuel to the ship’s engines, that was an act of ship management, rather than care of the cargo.

Cereal Investments v ED& F Man Sugar [2007] EWHC 2843

FOB contracts – shipment period

In FOB contracts the seller must ship the goods by the end of the shipment period. Where this period is not stated in the contract, the courts will examine the contract to determine whether a period can be implied.

In this case the contract stated “One vessel only presenting October 2006 Shipment at Buyer’s Option, with 10 days pre-advise of vessel arrival”.

The judge held that a commercial and grammatical reading must result in a break between ‘2006’ and ‘shipment’, and that the buyer would have to make a reasonable estimate of the time when shipment would be complete based on the time needed for loading the goods.

Scottish & Newcastle International Ltd v Ghalanos [2008] UKHL

Labelling of contract for the international sale of goods – substance not label important

In this case the House of Lords made it clear that the label given to a contract would not prevail over the substance of that contract. The contract was stated to be “CFR Limassol, Cyprus”. However, the substance of the contract provided the buyer with a right to designate a vessel to take delivery of the goods at Liverpool. It could therefore not properly be treated as a CFR contract (where the seller would arrange carriage). It was held that the contract was FOB Liverpool.

AIC Ltd v Marine Pilot Ltd (The Archimidis) [2008] EWCA Civ 175

Charterer’s duty to use a good and safe port – safe port warranty where there is an agreed single port

A charterparty may provide that the charterer shall be entitled to nominate a port of destination or loading at a specified time. The nominated port must be a good and safe port.

In this case the voyage charter stipulated “Load one safe port Ventspils. Discharge ½ safe ports United Kingdom Continent Bordeaux/Hamburg range”. The Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether there could be a safe port warranty where there is an agreed single port, or whether the shipowner was to be regarded as having consented to the risk that the port might prove to be unsafe.

It was held that the words amounted to a warranty of safe port.

Click here for a list of International Commercial Law case titles that you can research.

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