Stays and the European Conventions—End-Game?

Extract

May an English court, having jurisdiction under the Brussels or Lugano Convention, decline to entertain proceedings on the basis that a court in a non-Contracting State is the forum conveniens? Many would doubt it-can national law oust jurisdiction conferred by the Conventions? But the Court of Appeal famously decided otherwise in Re Harrods (Buenos Aires) Ltd. [1992] Ch. 72. The Conventions, it concluded, are designed to harmonise the jurisdictional rules of Contracting States only to the extent necessary to facilitate the enforcement of judgments between such States, their primary concern. That objective is unaffected if a case is eventually tried in a non-Contracting State, so stays in such cases are permitted. The House of Lords in Harrods referred the point to the European Court of Justice, but the case was settled, creating uncertainty about the correct solution, yet leaving all courts but the House of Lords bound by the Court of Appeal’s decision.