PIL instrument(s)

Case number and/or case name

Polskie Ratownictwo Okretowe v Rallo Vito & C. SNC [2009] EWHC 2249 (Comm)

Details of the court

England and Wales, First Instance

Articles referred to by the court

Date of the judgement

14 September 2009

Appeal history

CJEU's case law cited by the court

Summary

Due to adverse weather conditions, a fishing vessel had an incident outside an Italian port. There was a need for the owner of the vessel to hire a tug company to assist in re-floating it. The dispute arose between the owner of the tug, on the claimant’s side, and the owner of the vessel, on the defendant’s side. The issues was whether the claimant pulled the vessel in a manner compatible with the defendant’s instructions. The owner of the tug initiated court proceedings in England, seeking a non-liability declaration. The defendants were the owner of the vessel and the vessel’s hull and machinery insurer. Both defendants were domiciled in Italy, so that they challenged the jurisdiction of the English court. The claimant contended that the defendants were bound by a jurisdiction agreement. The High Court judge held that there was a choice-of-court agreement between the claimant and the first defendant. This agreement was made orally, and was evidenced in writing. However, there was no jurisdiction agreement between the claimant and the second defendant.