The Commercial Court has recently handed down two decisions in the Triton Lark which, taken together, present a sensible and coherent test by which the applicability of the Conwartime 1993 clause can be determined by those seeking to rely on it in a commercial context, including masters and owners of vessels.

In a Judgment delivered on 24 January 2012, the Court of Appeal (Toulson, Lloyd and Carnwath LJJ) has decided that there is power under the Arbitration Act 1996 for the Court to order Judgment to be entered in the terms of an arbitration award, where the award takes the form of a negative declaration (i.e. that the successful party has no legal liability to the other party).

The recent announcement by the UK Government that weapons will be allowed on UK-flagged vessels is not perhaps as revolutionary as it might first appear. Under the relevant firearms legislation, shot guns and single shot rifles were already permitted, subject to the appropriate certification having been obtained. Rather, the new government guidelines and the headlines they have generated have been about the use of previously prohibited weapons ...

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Report on “Piracy off the coast of Somalia”, published today, sets out the findings of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) enquiry into the efforts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the UK Government to combat increasing levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

As claims from the Thai floods develop through the international market, it is likely the losses will test every critical aspect of the reinsurance claim process.