CLOUTindex.
index.
Case 60
Hong Kong: High Court of Hong Kong (Kaplan J.)
6 October 1993
Safond Shipping Sdn. Bhd. v. East Asia Sawmill Corp.
Original in English
Unpublished
(Abstract prepared by the Secretariat)
The plaintiff had a claim for demurrage against the defendant on the basis of a charterparty containing an arbitration clause which provided for arbitration in Hong Kong under English law and that each party would nominate one arbitrator. The plaintiff informed the defendant about the appointment of an arbitrator and invited the defendant to appoint its arbitrator. The defendant did not respond. The plaintiff then sought the appointment of an arbitrator by the court on behalf of the defendant pursuant to article 11 MAL. The court granted the plaintiff leave to serve out of the jurisdiction of the court and process was served, but the defendant again did not respond.
The court found that the defendant's conduct, which reflected what was becoming a
standard pattern in claims before Hong Kong courts arising usually out of charterparties
or contracts for the international sale of goods, involved cost and delay and as such was
contrary to the spirit of arbitration which seeks to resolve a dispute quickly and
economically. It was held that such conduct constituted a flagrant breach of the
contractual obligation to arbitrate and an unacceptable defiance of the court proceedings,
which caused delay and expense. The court appointed an arbitrator and ordered the
defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs.
Additional Information published in later CLOUT issue (on "12 July 1995"):
Excerpts published in English: [1993] 1 Hong Kong Law Digest J 11.
Additional Information published in later CLOUT issue (on "12 July 1995"):
Cases 39-41, 57, 60-64, 76 and 78, reported on in English: [1992] The Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Law Journal (ADRLJ) 235, [1992] ADRLJ 240, [1993] ADRLJ 100 and [1994] ADRLJ 49, 295, 307, 291, 290, 298 respectively.
Additional Information published in later CLOUT issue (on "9 February 2000"):
Abstract published in English: [1996] Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Reports, Vol. 2, issue 1, 53
Text of the court decision published in English: [1996] Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Reports, Vol. 2, issue 1, 56
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CASE LAW ON UNCITRAL TEXTS (CLOUT)
Abstracts of cases
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