In the decision In the matter of “The Alexandros T”, the UK Supreme Court restricted the application of Articles 27 and 28 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 in a long-running insurance dispute involving multiple proceedings – first in the English, then Greek, then English courts.

Note: This article discusses the Supreme Court's view on a Court of Appeal decision which In Practice reported in our April 2013 edition — Starlight Shipping Co. v. Allianz Marine & Aviation Versicherungs AG & ors.

What will the decision mean?

The ruling means that proceedings in a foreign EU Member State will not prevent the English Court hearing claims that the foreign proceedings were brought in breach of a settlement of prior English proceedings.