The English court’s power, in a cross-border commercial dispute, to grant an order for the service of proceedings on a defendant outside of its territory is a well-established part of its national rules of jurisdiction. First introduced under the Common Law Procedure Act 1852, this jurisdiction is presently codified within Pt 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). CPR, r 6.36 confirms the claimant’s right to seek permission to serve proceedings on a foreign-based defendant, in those cases which either fall entirely outside the material scope of the Brussels Regime or those which are covered by art 6(1) of the Brussels Ia Regulation and art 4(1) of the Lugano II Convention. Unlike the other two bases for adjudicatory competence within the English national rules – namely, the defendant’s submission to the English proceedings and the defendant’s presence in England at the time the claim form is served – the power to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction is discretionary in nature…