This paper argues that the current scope of English anti-suit injunctions risks illegitimate exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction and should be recalibrated through two underused lenses: (i) lessons from worldwide freezing injunctions and (ii) philosophical accounts of private international law. It distinguishes the anti-suit injunction’s ‘substantive scope’ (whether an equitable ground exists) from its ‘international scope’ (whether England has legitimate regulatory authority in the light of competing foreign interests).

CML was pleased to welcome more than 40 people to its Opening Reception on 23 January 2026 at University Town, Kent Ridge Campus. This included practitioners from the Singapore maritime bar, recent graduates who had completed maritime law studies at NUS, and current NUS students enrolled in maritime law courses.

CML Research Associate Leung Liwen focuses on the debate concerning the determination of the proper law of the contract in confirmed letters of credit. Sinopec International (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Bank of Communications Co Ltd [2021] SGHC 245 applied the place of contemplated presentation as the relevant connecting factor, rather than the place of actual presentation. But Kuvera Resources Pte Ltd v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA [2022] SGHC 213 accepted that formation occurs upon a complying presentation. As the latter formulation has not been applied in any jurisdiction beside Singapore, the paper discusses the proper law problems present prior to Kuvera.

This paper shows how the duty to make a fair presentation of the risk has been judicially developed not because of statutory reforms but in spite of them. It suggests that the brutal, simple version of pre-contractual disclosure under the Marine Insurance Act 1906 which Singapore still adopts is likely to be replaced by a more nuanced and 'open-textured' mode of commercial contracting.

On 30 October 2025, the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) hosted a CML Seminar at the Ocean Financial Centre. As part of the event, Ms Lucy Carey, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Maritime Law at NUS Law and Lecturer in Commercial Law at the University of Aberdeen, delivered a presentation on Jurisdictional Challenges for Remote Operation Centres and Uncrewed Ships.

This paper deals with the tension between the compensatory role of damages and an approach to damages (the market approach) that calculates damages pragmatically with an eye to ease of assessment. The market damages approach, as it applies, for example, to a buyer’s damages for non-delivery, closes out the contract according to the difference between the contract price and the market price at the due date of performance. It does not require the buyer to purchase substitute goods.

On the evening of 23 October 2025, the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) held its 8th Singapore Shipping Law Forum. Professor Michael Bridge Hon KC FBA was the keynote speaker. Over 120 participants from Singapore’s maritime and legal community attended the event. Professor Stephen Girvin, MPA Professor of Maritime Law and Director of CML, gave the opening address and outlined Professor Bridge’s extensive academic journey, beginning in Blackpool and progressing through institutions such as the London School of Economics and the National University of Singapore.

CML was pleased to host a downtown seminar on 18 September 2025 by Dr Sanam Saidova, Visiting Senior Fellow at the NUS Faculty of Law, where she has been teaching Trade Finance Law. Dr Saidova is an Assistant Professor in Law at the University of Nottingham and gave a presentation to researchers and legal practitioners specialising in maritime and aviation law.

CML was delighted to host Dr Filip Šaranović, Senior Lecturer in Shipping Law at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, who delivered a seminar on 'Anti-Suit Injunctions: Legitimate Expectations, Comity and Egoistic Paternalism' on 04 September 2025. Dr Šaranović's research interests encompass both wet and dry shipping, as well as the conflict of laws and enforcement of maritime claims. He serves as the Director of the International Maritime Law LLM programme, the Director of the Insurance, Shipping and Aviation Law Institute (ISALI). The seminar, held in downtown Singapore, was attended by various maritime law practitioners and academics and was moderated by Professor Stephen Girvin, MPA Professor of Maritime Law and Director of CML.

Visiting Professor James Davey conducted CML’s first AY25/26 public seminar on 28 August 2025 titled, “Fair Presentation of the Risk in the Twenty-First Century” at The Executive Centre, Level 4, Ocean Financial Centre. Professor James Davey, a Professor of Law at the University of Bristol and President of the British Insurance Law Association, provided an overview of the changes brought about by the Insurance Act 2015 (UK) and introduced the various choice of law arrangements adopted by the marine insurance industry as well as recent decisions that showcased how the courts dealt with the question of inducement. The seminar was moderated by Professor Stephen Girvin, MPA Professor of Maritime Law and Director of CML.

Calling all undergraduate and JD students taking (or who have taken or intend to take) Carriage of Goods by Sea, or Admiralty Law & Practice, or Charterparties, International Commercial Arbitration, Law of Marine Insurance, or Maritime Law to participate in the prestigious International Maritime Law Arbitration Mooting Competition (IMLAM) 2026 that will be held at the University of Sydney in July 2026. Team members will be awarded 4-units for their written memoranda for the moot (by way of LL4203 International Moots and Other Competitions in Semester II). Students selected for the team will be registered for this elective. Deadline for interviews: 1 September 2025.

The Centre for Maritime Law (CML) congratulates our former Research Associate, Elson Ong, on being conferred his PhD at the National University of Singapore on 11 July 2025. Dr Elson Ong ’25 completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Stephen Girvin, Centre Director of CML and MPA Professor of Maritime Law. His thesis topic was: ‘Digitalising Commercial Shipping: The Relevance of Trust’, and he was examined by Professor Jason Chuah FRSA SFHEA and Professor (elect) Simone Lamont-Black.