Forum Non Conveniens: Jurisdictional Challenges Before The Irish Courts

Key Takeaways

• Forum non conveniens (FNC) is an important doctrine in cross-border litigation, that permits a court, in certain circumstances, to stay proceedings where another jurisdiction is clearly the more appropriate forum to hear the dispute.

• The scope for relying on FNC is determined by the jurisdictional regime governing the underlying proceedings.

• The principles established in Spiliada Maritime Corporation v Cansulex Limited [1987] AC 460, require a defendant to prove that an alternative forum is clearly and distinctly more suitable.

• Irish Bank Resolution Corporation v Quinn [2016] 3 I.R. 197 remains a leading Irish authority on FNC, with courts assessing practical factors such as convenience, witnesses, cost, applicable law and the location of the parties. in order to decide whether the defendant has established that there is an alternative more appropriate forum than Ireland for the conduct of the proceedings. If this threshold is met by the defendant,