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Wording excluding liability for “indirect or consequential losses” frequently appear in contracts. The familiarity of such wording tends to encourage acceptance and to obscure the fact that its meaning may be uncertain. What exactly does “indirect” or “consequential” mean in legal terms and how are they to be distinguished from “direct” losses? The distinction can…

Regulations for the prevention of pollution by garbage from ships are set out in Annex V of the MARPOL convention. Recent changes to Annex V came into effect on 1 January 2013 that may impact on the legal position of charterers and the shippers of cargo as well as parties concerned with the operation of…

Guarantees are frequently used in connection with commercial and shipping transactions. A recent decision of the English Court of Appeal1 has revisited the important distinction between guarantees and demand bonds under English law. What is a guarantee under English law? Under what is properly called a guarantee the guarantor or surety (“A”) undertakes responsibility for…

UK Supreme Court holds that legal professional privilege does not extend to communications between a client and its accountants. The facts of the case are that HMRC (the UK tax authorities) had served a notice on Prudential PLC requiring that it disclose communications with PriceWaterhouseCoopers regarding a tax avoidance scheme promoted by PWC. Prudential resisted…