Assignment of Policies - Marine Insurance and the Rome Convention 1980

(Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG v Five Star General Trading LLC, Court of Appeal, in February 2001 (forthcoming in [2001] Lloyd's Rep IR))

In the November 2000 issue of Insurance Law Monthly the decision of Longmore J in Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG v Five Star General Trading LLC was briefly discussed. That case considered the law applicable to the assignment of a marine policy and to the requirements for a valid assignment under English law. The Court of Appeal, in February 2001 (forthcoming in [2001] Lloyd’s Rep IR) has upheld the decision of Longmore J, but the discussion was far more detailed and in some respects the original decision was not followed. As will be seen, the Court of Appeal ruled that (a) the validity of the assignment was to be determiend in accordance with English law and (b) under English law there was a valid assignment in equity.