Contract

1) How much influence does a choice of forum clause have in determining the
proper law of the contract?

2) DNW is an Italian car manufacturer which produce fancy sports cars. Jo’s Wheels
is an international chain of car dealers incorporated in England. Both these
companies enter into a contract in Bologna, Italy where DNW is to supply Jo’s
Wheels a range of their latest sports cars. The cars are to be delivered in
Denmark and payment is to be made in US Dollars. The contract is a standard
form contract used often by Jo’s Wheels. The cars were supposed to be
delivered by an Italian ship but a last minute issue caused a Bolivian ship to be
used instead. There is a clause in the contract which states that the contract is to
be governed by the law of the ship.

A dispute arises and you are the judge in the case. What do you think is the
proper law of the contract?

3) What are the situations in which a contract is void because of illegality?

4) Come up with a case note on the case of Compagnie d’Armament SA v

Compagnie Tunisienne de Navigation SA [1971] AC 572, [1970] 3 ALL ER 71.

5) You are a lawyer in an international law firm and your client is a Malaysian
company. They want to enter into a contract with a Chilean company. Your
company wants the contract to be governed by Malaysian law. Advise them on
how to go about doing this.
Tort

1) Based on the article by Adrian Briggs entitled ‘What did Boys v Chaplin Decide?’ (The Anglo-
American Law Review, Volume 12, 1983, pg 237-247) determine what Briggs said is the ratio
of the case. Do you agree with his approach?

2) Ah Chong who is domiciled in Malaysia, works as a sailor on a cruise ship for a Sri Lankan
company. His job requires him to travel on the ship for cruises around Asia. The ship he
works on is maintained by the Sri Lankan company.

One day when the ship was docked in the Philippines, Ah Chong suffered serious injuries
when a part of the ship’s engine fell off and injured him when he was walking through the
engine room. It was later discovered that this happened because of poor maintenance of the
ship’s engine.

According to Malaysian law the Sri Lankan company can be sued by Ah Chong if they are
negligent in maintaining the ship. According to Philippines law there is nothing that stops Ah
Chong from suing the company but the damages that will be awarded should he win the
case is a much lower amount than Malaysian law. According to Sri Lankan law, they have a
statute that allows the company to be free of liability and from being sued.

Ah Chong sues the Sri Lankan company in a Malaysian court.

a) How do you think the court will decide on the case?

b) In what way would your answer be different if there was a clause in Ah Chong’s contract
which states that he is only allowed to claim compensation under the company’s
compensation scheme and he is barred from suing his employer should he sustain any
injuries?

3) Explain the manner in which the place of tort is determined.

4) Elaborate on the concept of the ‘Proper Law of the Tort’. In your opinion, should this
concept be embraced in Malaysia?