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Members of the list may be interested to learn that today's London Times contains a Law Report of Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Glasgow City Council (Court of Appeal, unreported, 25 January 1996; Leggatt, Roch, and Millett L.JJ.) under the heading "Convention applies to claim made under void contract". The Times' summary headnote of the case is as follows:

"A claim for restitution of money paid under a contract, which was a nullity because of the recipient's want of capacity to enter into it, was a matter "relating to a contract" within the meaning of article 5(1) of the Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968, enacted by the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982.

Accordingly, the English court had jurisdiction, pursuant to the special jurisdiction conferred by article 5, to hear the claim of the plaintiff bank against the defendant, domiciled in Scotland, for recovery of money paid under the terms of seven written interest rate swap contracts, such contracts having been held subsequently by the House of Lords to be void: see Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council (The Times January 25, 1991; [1992] 2 AC 1).

The Court of Appeal so held by a majority, Lord Justice Leggatt dissenting, in a reserved judgment allowing the appeal of Kleinwort Benson Ltd against the order of Mr Justice Hirst (The Times March 17, 1992; [1993] QB 429) in favour of Glasgow City Council on its application to set aside the service of the plaintiff's writ on it on the ground that the proper forum for any claim against it was Scotland. Leave was granted to appeal to the House of Lords."

The full text of the Times Report is available in the Business section of the Times on the Net (http://www.the-times.co.uk and follow the links).

EOIN O'DELL
Barrister, Lecturer in Law

Trinity College
Dublin 2
Ireland

ph (+ 353 - 1) 608 1178
fax (+ 353 - 1) 677 0449

(All opinions are personal; no legal responsibility whatsoever is accepted.)
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