Changes

(i) Can the Tunisian Proceedings be relied upon by Monjasa as the bringing of suit for the purposes of Article III Rule 6 in other proceedings commenced outside the one-year period (including the English proceedings)?

(ii) Were the Tunisian proceedings brought within time for the purposes of Article III Rule 6?

As to (i), the answer was “no”, because the Tunisian proceedings were brought in breach of the exclusive jurisdiction clause and there were no exceptional circumstances (e.g. Owners refusing to provide a copy of the charterparty incorporated into the bill of lading on Shippers’ request) to justify a contrary conclusion. This was particularly so when the bill of lading clearly incorporated a dispute resolution clause from a charterparty identified therein, and where the original lawful holders of the bill of lading must be taken to have had access to the terms of the charterparty at the time when they entered into the contract.