Jurisdiction over claims against forwarder Forwarders Legal Guide Forwarding Index Home Jurisdiction BIFA Section 30. These Conditions and any act or contract to which they apply shall be governed by English Law and any dispute arising out of any act or contract to which these Conditions apply shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts .
Jurisdiction clauses are enforceable in most countries.
They do avoid actions being brought against a forwarder in a jurisdiction in which it would be inconvenient to defend the suit. However, courts have a discretion to ignore a jurisdiction clause where the result is that a claimant would suffer hardship. Most transport documents contain jurisdiction clauses, and in some countries there is legislation denying any efficiency to these clauses. The jurisdiction clauses found in forwarding conditions frequently provide that the action must be brought against the forwarder in a jurisdiction in which the forwarder has its principal place of business. These clauses also deal with the law that should be applied in the resolution of the dispute.