STOP PRESS

Dentons Rodyk is pleased to announce that in a case it handled, the Singapore Court of Appeal has changed the law on exclusive jurisdiction clauses.

The Court has just handed down an extensive judgment saying that it will no longer follow its own previously-stated principle, namely, that the Singapore court is entitled to consider the merits of a defendant’s case when it applies to stay Singapore proceedings on account of an exclusive jurisdiction clause.  This previous principle was expressed in no less than four of the Singapore Court of Appeal’s judgments.

The Singapore Court of Appeal has accepted the invitation by Dentons Rodyk, made on behalf of its client, that it should no longer follow such a principle.  Instead, there should be more focus on party autonomy and the merits of a defendant’s case is not relevant to the issue whether a stay should be ordered.

In the next full edition of Starboard (to follow shortly), we will discuss the judgment in detail and its implications for clients.  In the meantime, readers should note that not only has the law changed, this change has been said by the Singapore Court of Appeal to have general retroactive effect.

Case Summary:

Vinmar Overseas (Singapore) Pte Ltd v PTT International Trading Pte Ltd [2018] SGCA 65

Judgment:

Vinmar Overseas (Singapore) Pte Ltd v PTT International Trading Pte Ltd [2018] SGCA 65