MoR proposes ‘major new project’ to boost blockchain – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Putting tax payments or property transactions on blockchain – or issuing a Bank of England-backed digital currency – would help entrench English law as the forum of choice for resolving crypto disputes, the master of the rolls has said in a constitutionally daring intervention into policy-making.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Senior judges back push to move High Court cases to the regions – Legal Futures

Posted May 31st, 2022 in choice of forum, civil justice, lists, news by sally

‘The High Court has transferred another case from London to Leeds at the same time as senior judges emphasised that the location of the lawyers is not a trump card in determining venue.’

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Legal Futures, 31st May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge throws out most of Swedish businessman’s libel claim in England – The Guardian

‘A British judge has thrown out large parts of a libel action by a Swedish businessman who tried to sue journalists writing about his company before its flotation on a Norwegian stock exchange.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Speech by the Lord Chief Justice: Blackstone Lecture 2022 – Court and Tribunals Judiciary

‘The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has delivered the Blackstone Lecture 2022 at Pembroke College in Oxford. Lord Burnett of Maldon gave a speech entitled The hidden value of the Rule of Law and English Law.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 11th February 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Case Comment: Kabab-Ji Sal (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2021] UKSC 48 – UKSC Blog

Posted November 16th, 2021 in arbitration, assignment, choice of forum, enforcement, news, subsidiary companies by sally

‘In this post, Richard Bamforth, Jessica Foley, and Julia Czaplinska-Pakowska of CMS comment on the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Kabab-Ji Sal (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2021] UKSC 48, which delivered further guidance to commercial parties and arbitration practitioners on the issue of the governing law of arbitration agreements.’

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UKSC Blog, 16th November 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Court sanctions Part 26A restructuring plan – Mills & Reeve

‘The court considered whether it could make an order sanctioning a Part 26A restructuring plan (“Plan”) where the company was incorporated in England to rely on the English court’s jurisdiction to sanction a Plan.’

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Mills & Reeve, 8th June 2021

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Climate change “could transform legal profession” – Legal Futures

‘Helping clients cope with the repercussions of climate change could transform the legal profession, a Law Society report has predicted, as lawyers focus on “proactive risk management advice”, knowledge of numerous legal frameworks and “out-of-the-box thinking”.’

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Legal Futures, 25th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Case Note: Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group plc, BHP Billiton plc and BHP Group Ltd – Blackstone Chambers

‘This note considers the judgment of Turner J in the Technology and Construction Court of 10 November 2020 in the case of Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group plc, BHP Billiton plc and BHP Group Ltd. In that judgment, Turner J struck out a claim by a very large group of claimants for compensation for damage caused by the 2015 collapse of the Fundão Dam in South Eastern Brazil, in which over 40 million cubic metres of tailings washed into the Doce River with massive human, environmental, and economic cost. This note presents the factual background of the case and sets out the most relevant features of the judgment for the practice of mass tort litigation in the multinational context.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 15th February 2021

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Supreme Court Shell ruling “big step forward” for access to justice – Litigation Futures

Posted February 16th, 2021 in choice of forum, class actions, news, oil wells, pollution, Supreme Court by sally

‘Campaigners have welcomed Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on claims brought by the victims of oil pollution in the Niger Delta as a major step forward for those seeking access to justice for corporate abuses.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court strikes out group action as an abuse of process: Municipo de Mariana v BHP Group PLC [2020] EWHC 2930 (TCC) – Henderson Chambers

‘The High Court has struck out claims brought by more than 200,000 Brazilian claimants in the English courts against British and Australian holding companies in relation to the collapse of the Fundao Dam in Brazil in 2015. In Municipo de Mariana v BHP Group PLC ([2020] EWHC 2930 (TCC)) Turner J found the claims to be an abuse of process and also considered that, in the alternative, the proceedings should be stayed under the Recast Brussels Regulation and on the basis of forum non conveniens. While Turner J emphasised that the factual background of this case was central to his conclusions, his judgment contains a detailed analysis of the relevant caselaw and his consideration of the facts surrounding the claim will no doubt be of interest to parties involved in similar cross-jurisdictional and group actions. Charles Gibson QC led the Counsel team for the Defendants.’

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Henderson Chambers, 19th November 2020

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

High Court strikes out “unmanageable” 200,000-strong group action – Litigation Futures

Posted November 10th, 2020 in abuse of process, choice of forum, class actions, news, pollution, striking out by sally

‘The High Court has struck out a claim brought on behalf of more than 200,000 claimants over a dam collapse in Brazil, saying it risked becoming “the largest white elephant in the history of group actions”.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge condemns late argument in “forensic arms race” of a case – Litigation Futures

‘A High Court judge has strongly attacked the claimants in what he described as a “forensic arms race” over a complex claim by 202,000 Brazilian people and businesses following the collapse of a dam in 2015.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th October 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

New Judgment: Unwired Planet International Ltd and another) v Huawei Technologies (UK) Co Ltd and another [2020] UKSC 37 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal discusses whether the English court has the power or jurisdiction, or is it a proper exercise of any such power or jurisdiction without the parties’ agreement:

– to grant an injunction restraining infringement of a UK SEP unless the defendant enters into a global licence under a multinational patent portfolio;
– to determine the rates/terms for such a licence; and
– to declare that such rates/terms are FRAND?’

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UKSC Blog, 26th August 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Arbitration Claims Under CPR Part 62: Is Forum Non Conveniens Relevant? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 30th, 2020 in arbitration, choice of forum, civil procedure rules, news by sally

‘This article reviews the recent case of Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO “Insurance Company Chubb” & Ors (Rev 1) [2020] EWCA Civ 574.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 23rd July 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Uber v Heller and the Prospects for a Transnational Judicial Dialogue on the Gig Economy – II – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘In the coming days, labour lawyers from around the world will be tuning in to watch the arguments in Uber v Aslam. In terms of the wider ramifications of the reasoning in Heller, what are the prospects for the ‘contractual’ and the “constitutional” approaches in Aslam? As already noted, the wider doctrine of unconscionability in Heller is unlikely to find favour in the English courts. More importantly, disputes about the employment contract in English courts are rarely about the contract rights themselves. The (private) contract is a gateway into a suite of (public) statutory employment protections. It would make little sense for a worker to seek to set aside the contract by using unconscionability as a vitiating factor, when the statutory protections depend upon the contract being valid and enforceable. This limits the practical relevance of Heller’s expanded unconscionability doctrine, given the statutory context to most employment litigation in the UK.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 20th July 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Uber v Heller and the Prospects for a Transnational Judicial Dialogue on the Gig Economy – I – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘Across the world, Gig employers are now facing a legal reckoning in the highest courts. On 21st July, the issue of whether Uber drivers are “workers” will be considered by a seven-member panel of the UK Supreme Court. This follows on from Mr Heller’s momentous victory in a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller which involved a legal challenge to a mandatory arbitration clause in a contract between Uber and an UberEATS driver. The arbitration clause required disputes to be referred to arbitration in Amsterdam, which would be subject to the law of the Netherlands. The clause also required the payment of US $14,500 as an upfront administrative cost. The appellant earned $20,800–$31,200 per year before taxes and expenses were deducted. Nor did the fee include other costs likely to be incurred in an arbitration, such as travel to Amsterdam, accommodation, and legal representation. Students of transnational labour law of a certain generation cut their teeth on great debates about “offshoring” and the disintegrative risks to labour standards posed by capital mobility. The Heller case is an important reminder that we are now in an era of juridical mobility: employing entities seek to escape national labour law systems without the cost and inconvenience of spatial mobility.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 19th July 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Copyright – Performing Right Society Ltd v Qatar Airways Group QCS – NIPC Law

‘This was an application by the defendant airline to stay an action for copyright infringement on grounds of forum non conveniens and case management. The action has been brought by the Performing Right Society which alleges that the inflight entertainment systems of the defendant’s aircraft infringe the copyright laws of the countries in which those aircraft are present at any one time. The application came on before Mr Justice Birss on 18 June 2020. He handed down his judgment in Performing Right Society Ltd v Qatar Airways Group QCS [2020] EWHC 1872 on 17 July 2020.’

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NIPC Law, 20th July 2020

Source: nipclaw.blogspot.com

Divorce ruling gives ‘untrammelled licence’ to go forum shopping – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 2nd, 2020 in choice of forum, divorce, news, Scotland, Supreme Court by tracey

‘A Scottish aristocrat has lost a Supreme Court appeal regarding the finances of his divorce in a ruling that will reignite debate on forum shopping.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st July 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Refunds and Exchanges after (Forum) Shopping: Are You Allowed to Change Your Mind? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted February 6th, 2020 in chambers articles, choice of forum, disclosure, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘The Claimant (MCM) commenced the present proceedings on 21 December 2017. Its initial claim pleaded only deceit and unjust enrichment, and was brought only against the First and Second Defendants pursuant to an English jurisdiction and governing law clause.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th February 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

English judges deciding Scottish divorce cases is “recipe for chaos”, Supreme Court hears – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 10th, 2019 in choice of forum, divorce, financial provision, news, Scotland by sally

‘English judges deciding Scottish divorce cases is a “recipe for chaos”, the Supreme Court has heard in a landmark case between an aristocrat and his estranged wife.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk