Spiliada Case精选.pdfVIP

Page 1 Spiliada Maritime Corpn v Cansulex Ltd, The Spiliada [1987] AC 460, [1986] 3 All ER 843, [1986] 3 WLR 972, [1987] 1 Lloyds Rep 1, 130 Sol Jo 925, [1987] LS Gaz R 113, [1986] NLJ Rep 1137, [1987] LRC (Comm) 356 Court: HL Judgment Date: 19/11/1986 Catchwords Digest PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDINGS - SERVICE OF PROCESS - SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION - CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION ALLOWED - ACTIONS ON CONTRACTS - CONTRACT BY ITS TERMS OR BY IMPLICATION TO BE GOVERNED BY ENGLISH LAW - SERVICE OF PROCESS -- SERVICE OUTSIDE JURISDICTION -- ACTION UNDER CONTRACTS GOVERNED BY ENGLISH LAW Plaintiffs unconnected with England obtained leave under RSC Ord 11 to serve a writ outside the jurisdiction on defendants also unconnected with England. The defendants application to set aside or stay the proceedings was refused at first instance. This was largely because they were already defendants to similar proceedings in England which, although brought by different plaintiffs, raised similar factual and legal issues and involved the same lawyers and experts on each side. The defendants successfully appealed against that refusal. On further appeal by the plaintiffs: Held: (i) Where a defendant had been served within England, so that jurisdiction had been founded as of right, he could apply to the court to exercise its discretion to stay the proceedings on the ground known as forum non-conveniens. If he did, the burden was on him to satisfy the court that there was another forum having jurisdiction which was the appropriate forum for the action because in it the case could be tried more suitably for the interests of all the parties and for the ends of justice. In discharging this burden, he had to satisfy the court not merely that England was not the natur