International Trade and Commodities Legal Update - April 2013
The latest issue of our International Trade and Commodities Legal Update - April 2013.
The Astra: single hire default entitles owners to withdraw and claim loss of profit for remaining charter period
In a decision which may come as a surprise to the market, a Commercial Court judge has issued a judgment this week in The Astra, stating that a single failure to pay hire under an NYPE charterparty amounts to a breach of condition entitling a ship-owner to terminate and seek damages. As explained in the attached article, the judgment appears to go against previous judicial authority to the contrary. The status of the judgment is unclear but, if it does represent the position under English law, then it will change the balance of power between owners and charterers in a falling market.
The article explains the background to the case and explores some of the implications of a decision that missing a single hire payment entitles an owner to terminate. The article also looks briefly at the other issues raised in the case concerning the law on repudiatory breach and whether an agreement to pay loss of earnings constituted an unenforceable penalty clause.
Airport Premises - traps for the unwary
Taking a tenancy of airport real estate may at first appear little different to leasing any other type of commercial property. In this article Ince partner Trevor Garood highlights some of the traps that may occur.
Insurance E-Brief (March 2013)
The last few months have been busy ones for the English appellate courts and we have seen a raft of decisions on a range of insurance and reinsurance issues ranging from liability for spreading fires, through apportionment in liability policies to the very meaning of ‘insurance’ for regulatory purposes. In this edition of the E-Brief, we identify the key points in those decisions and comment on what they mean for the market.
Passing costs liability down a charterparty chain
This decision deals with the recoverability of costs as damages in arbitration, where the claim is being passed down through a chain of charterparties but there is no arbitration reference for one of the links in the charterparty chain.
Worldwide anti-corruption initiatives: a comparison of UK and US legislation
This article compares the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the context of global anti-corruption initiatives.
Offshore wind energy - The importance of clear allocation of contractual risks and liabilities
If the UK offshore wind energy sector is to reduce costs it will be necessary to address the contractual interface between owners/developers and contractors early in the project lifecycle so risk and responsibility can be considered in detail and allocated. In this article we discuss the merits of various contracting strategies and forms which are currently in use.