forum non conveniens

England must be the appropriate forum of the disputes for the hearing and determination of the disputes sought to be resolved by English courts. In international disputes, simply because the dispute has some connection with England, does not lead to the conclusion that an English court will allow proceedings to become before them, and be heard and determined by them. One of the factors that the court takes into consideration in applications to commence litigation in England is whether England is the forum conveniens. If the court does not make such a finding, England will be forum non conveniens and permission will not be granted to serve the claim form out of the jurisdiction.

The test to be applied when assessing whether England is the forum conveniens was decided in Spiliada Maratime Corporation v Cansulex Ltd by the House of Lords. In that case, it was for the court to identify the forum ‘that the case may be tried more suitably in the interests of the parties and for the ends of justice’. It is for the claimant to show that England is the most appropriate forum, and must do so persuasively.

Usage: The claimant applied to serve out the claim form to commence proceedings against the defendant for breach of their intellectual property rights in England by the foreign defendant in the international dispute.

Related Words: forum conveniens; litigation; claim form; locus standi; application notice; jurisdiction; acknowledgment of service; international corporations.