OCEANFIX INTERNATIONAL LTD V AGIP KAZAKHSTAN NORTH CASPIAN OPERATING CO NV

[2009] ScotSC 9, Sheriff Court, Sheriff J K Tierney, 3 April 2009

Conflict of laws – Jurisdiction – Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, the Brussels Regulation, article 5 – Application for stay on ground of forum non conveniens - Whether court had power to stay proceedings where jurisdiction obtained under article 5

OFI, with its registered office in Aberdeen, sought payment from AK, a Dutch company with a place of business in Kazakhstan, for work done by OFI under a contract of supply. The Scottish court had jurisdiction by virtue of article 5(1) of the Brussels Regulation because the sums were payable in Scotland, so that Scotland was the place of performance of the obligation in question. AK asserted that Kazakhstan was the more appropriate forum because of a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause in the contract and also because that was the place of its domicile. The question was whether the court had the power to stay its own proceedings on forum non conveniens grounds. The court ruled that where a court possessed jurisdiction under article 5, it had no power to stay its own proceedings and was required to hear the case.