Judicial Discretion in the Enforcement of Jurisdiction Clauses by Alexandra D.R. Kindbom Judicial Discretion and the Enforceability of Jurisdiction Clauses - a commentary by Alexandra D.R. Kindbom Bills of lading commonly contain jurisdiction clauses requiring disputes relating to the bill of lading to be determined by a particular court to the exclusion of all others.
Parties often commence actions claiming on bill of ladings in another court.
The party issuing the bill of lading can request that court to stay the action, forcing the claimant to sue in the court designated by the jurisdiction clause. Most courts generally grant a stay of the action, but the decision is discretionary, meaning that in some circumstances a court will not do so. The NOL bills of lading contained a jurisdiction clause requiring all disputes to be determined by the courts of Singapore. NOL discharged the containers in England. An inland road carrier carried the containers to bonded warehouses for customs inspection and finally to a representative of the plaintiffs in London.