Whether non-party bound by jurisdiction clause
When construing exclusive jurisdiction clauses, there is a
presumption under English law in favour of "one-stop
shopping" for dispute resolution. The principle underlying
that presumption is that reasonable businessmen who have agreed a
regime for dispute resolution in connection with their contract are
unlikely to have intended that some disputes, depending on their
nature, might fall to be treated by different tribunals. However,
in this case, the chosen forum (England) could not exercise
jurisdiction over the claim as a whole, and so the judge held that
the presumption did not assist.
The judge went on to consider whether the English jurisdiction
clause could be enforced in relation to proceedings against persons
who are not a party to the agreement. There is conflicting caselaw
commentary on this point and the judge concluded that "Whether
an exclusive jurisdiction clause should be understood to oblige
