The Singapore Convention, more formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, was signed today in Singapore by 46 countries – a record number of first-day signatories for a UN trade convention. While not including the UK or any EU countries, the signatories do include the world’s two largest … Read more
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision granting rectification of two deeds on the basis that they did not reflect the parties’ subjective common intention: FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corporation Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1361. This is an important judgment which establishes, at Court of Appeal level, the test for rectifying … Read more
In a sign of the extent to which class actions have become part of the mainstream of English litigation, the Supreme Court has recently given permission to appeal in three cases brought by or on behalf of large groups of claimants in three completely different contexts. Most recent is the MasterCard litigation, in which the … Read more
The Supreme Court has held that the English courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction to hear certain claims brought by an English subsidiary company against Turkish domiciled defendants, including its parent company: Akcil v Koza Ltd [2019] UKSC 40. The judgment overturns the decision of the Court of Appeal and narrowly interprets article 24(2) of … Read more
The Supreme Court has held that there is no limit to the court’s discretion to grant non-party access to court documents. The guiding principle is the need for justice to be done in the open. Courts at all levels throughout the UK have an inherent jurisdiction to allow access in accordance with that principle: Cape … Read more
The High Court has held that England was the proper forum to determine a dispute against an additional defendant, so as to avoid multiple proceedings and the risk of irreconcilable judgments. The defendant was a necessary or proper party to the claims made against the anchor defendants and the claimant had no real choice where … Read more
It was announced yesterday that Lord Reed will succeed Lady Hale as President of the Supreme Court when she retires on 10 January 2020, having served as president since September 2017. Lord Reed is currently Deputy President, and therefore a new Deputy President will need to be appointed. Three additional appointments were also announced, to … Read more
Our Asia Pacific Guide to Privilege has recently been launched, including a new chapter on England and Wales and a question added to each of the other chapters comparing the position on privilege to the English law position. Compiled by our network of Herbert Smith Freehills lawyers and trusted local counsel, the updated Guide takes … Read more
