High Court Interprets Rules Allowing Service Out Of The Jurisdiction Without The Court's Permission Based On A Contractual Jurisdiction Clause

• Published date: 02 October 2025
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Corporate and Company Law, Contracts and Commercial Law, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
• Author: John Corrie, Maura McIntosh and Tracey Lattimer

The decision suggests that for these rules to apply the defendant must be a party to the contract or otherwise be seeking to rely on the contract.

The High Court has upheld a jurisdiction challenge by a Russian defendant, finding that there was no good arguable case that it was a party to the charterparty which contained an English jurisdiction clause and on which the claimant had relied in serving the claim form out of the jurisdiction without the court's permission: White Rock Corporation Ltd v Middle Volga Shipping Company [2025] EWHC 2089 (Comm).

The rules relating to service out of the jurisdiction have undergone significant changes in recent years, particularly following on from Brexit and the UK's departure from the EU regime governing questions of jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments. Pre-Brexit, a claim form could be served out of the jurisdiction without the court's permission where the court had jurisdiction under that regime, which included where there was an English jurisdiction clause.

After the UK left the EU, a new rule was introduced to reinstate the ability to serve out without permission where the claim falls within an English jurisdiction clause (whether or not it is an exclusive jurisdiction clause for the purposes of the Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005, for which there was an existing provision). A separate gateway allowing service out with the court's permission where the claim is "in respect of" a contract containing an English jurisdiction clause was removed, as it was thought to be redundant, but the rule allowing service out without permission was subsequently amended to include an apparently similar provision.

Following these changes, there has...