Pushing the boundaries still further: when are ancillary clauses incorporated into a bill of lading from a charterparty?

The recent decision of Males J in Caresse Navigation Ltd v Office National de L’Electricite (The Channel Ranger) [2013] EWHC 3081 (Comm) once again illustrates the liberal approach of the English court to the issue of incorporation of arbitration, jurisdiction and governing law clauses from a charterparty into a bill of lading.

English law is liberal first because the court may identify the terms of which charterparty are incorporated into the bill of lading, even if the parties themselves have failed to do this and have left the box blank which should have been filled in to specify the date of the relevant charterparty that is incorporated.