Cara North
Cara has over a decade’s worth of experience acting for clients on large and complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, specialising in domestic and international commercial litigation, arbitration and investor-state dispute resolution. Her expertise includes arbitrating under the rules of various arbitral institutions and acting for clients in complex and high profile litigation in the UK, the US, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Malaysia, primarily in the areas of construction projects, large corporate collapses and fraud.
Cara also has specific expertise in private international law, having worked as a consultant for the Hague Conference on Private International Law for five years and, prior to that, as a legal officer to the Hague Conference.
Cara has practiced in specialist disputes firms in London and Geneva, working on several international investment and commercial arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Rules, the Swiss Rules for International Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce Rules and the American Arbitration Association Rules in the construction, petroleum and telecommunications sectors.
Cara has a Master of Laws degree specialising in International Dispute Settlement from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and is a member of the ACICA45 Steering Committee and the Australian branch of the International Law Association. She regularly publishes and speaks on the topics of private international law and international commercial and investment arbitration.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
6 Contributions by Cara North
PRACTICE NOTES
2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention post‑Brexit: UK accession, exclusive jurisdiction clauses, and EU divergence on recognition and enforcement
This Practice Note examines how the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—which provides regimes for allocating court jurisdiction and for the recognition and enforcement of judgments—will operate in the UK after the end of the Brexit implementation period, viewed from the perspectives of both the UK and the EU Member States. The Convention applies solely to exclusive choice of court agreements.
Definitions
This Practice Note uses the following definitions:
Hague Convention—Convention on Choice of Court Agreements concluded on 30 June 2005 at The Hague
ECA 1972—European Communities Act 1972
EU(W)A 2018—European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
EU(WA)A 2020—European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
exit day—is defined in EU(W)A 2018, s 20
implementation period—is defined in EU(WA)A 2020, s 1. ‘Implementation period’ is the UK’s preferred term. The EU’s preferred term for this period is the ‘transition period’...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention: application, Article 16 timing, and UK–EU divergence on entry into force and enforcement
This Practice Note reviews the application of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements by contracting states to the convention. It sets out the parties to the convention, as well as those states that have signed the convention but have not yet ratified it. It also outlines how the convention operates for contracting states. For guidance on further elements of the convention, see the following Practice Notes:
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (jurisdiction and enforcement)—Brexit considerations
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—scope
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—jurisdiction
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—enforcement
Definitions
This Practice Note uses a number of definitions:
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—HCCH Convention on Choice of Court Agreements concluded on 30 June 2005 at The Hague
EU(W)A 2018—European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
EU(WA)A 2020—European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
exit day—is defined in EU(W)A 2018, s 20
implementation period—is defined in EU(WA)A 2020, s 1. ‘Implementation period’ is the UK’s preferred term. The EU’s preferred expression for this period is the ‘transition period’. The two terms are used interchangeably in this Practice Note according to the underlying reference...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
2019 Hague Judgments Convention: recognition and enforcement of foreign civil or commercial judgments—scope, jurisdictional bases, refusal grounds, procedure, declarations and interaction with other instruments
This Practice Note examines the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (the ). The convention establishes a framework for enforcing international civil or commercial judgments. The Note outlines the convention’s background, its status, and the date on which it took effect. It then sets out the convention’s scope (Articles 1–3), together with the pathways for recognising judgments (Articles 4–7). It next addresses interpretation and application, including procedure and costs (Articles 8–15), and concludes with the general clauses on declarations, the convention’s operation in non-unified systems, and its relationship with other international instruments. For the text of this convention and other documents...
Definitions
applicant—a party applying for recognition or enforcement under the convention
Hague Choice of Court Convention—HCCH Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements
Contracting States—a State which has consented to be bound by the convention, whether or not the convention has entered into force for that State
—HCCH Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005: Scope and exclusions for exclusive choice of court agreements; recognition and enforcement; declarations; and interaction with Brussels I (recast), Lugano and other instruments
This Practice Note reviews the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, which governs both jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments. It outlines the scope of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the need for an international case anchored by an exclusive choice of court agreement. It also examines issues lying outside the Convention’s reach, whether by specific exclusions within the text or through declarations made by contracting states. The Practice Note considers how the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements applies in the UK. An explanatory report on the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements by Trevor Hartley and Masato Dogauchi supplies detailed commentary on each article.
When did the Convention come into force?
The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements was concluded on 30 June 2005 and was first ratified by Mexico, followed by the EU. In accordance with Article 31 of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, it entered into force on 1 October 2015 as between those two contracting parties. For information, see News Analysis: Choice of Court Convention ratification by EU ministers...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Hague Choice of Court Convention: Jurisdiction under Exclusive Agreements, Non-chosen Courts' Obligations, Article 6 Exceptions, Interim Measures and Anti-suit Injunctions
This Practice Note explores the operation of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements when jurisdictional questions arise in practice. It reviews the varieties of jurisdiction clauses and assesses whether they fall within the Convention’s scope. It then explains the duties placed on the court named in an exclusive jurisdiction clause (the chosen court), together with the responsibilities of courts seised where they are not the designated forum (non‑chosen courts). The Practice Note also addresses the availability of anti‑suit injunctions under the Convention and how the Convention is applied in disputes involving multiple parties and interests. It should be read in conjunction with Practice Notes: Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—application by contracting states and Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (jurisdiction and enforcement)—Brexit considerations. An explanatory report on the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements by Trevor Hartley and Masato Dogauchi offers detailed explanations and commentary for each article.
Type of choice of court agreement
A jurisdiction agreement, also known as a choice of court agreement, can be drafted as exclusive or non‑exclusive. Article 1 of the Convention states that it expressly applies only in circumstances where the contracting parties have duly entered into an...
Dispute Resolution
PRACTICE NOTES
Recognition and enforcement of judgments and judicial settlements under the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention: procedures, documents, refusal grounds, severability, non-monetary remedies, damages and preliminary questions
This Practice Note explores the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and how it operates when enforcing a court judgment or a judicial settlement. It addresses what counts as a judgment and a judicial settlement, the criteria for recognition and enforcement of a court judgment, including severability, together with enforcement of non-monetary orders and judicial settlements. The Practice Note also outlines the steps for recognition and enforcement, the supporting documents needed, and points specific to England and Wales. Finally, it considers the bases for refusing recognition or enforcement under the convention. For practitioners using the Convention, an explanatory report by Trevor Hartley and Masato Dogauchi offers detailed commentary on each article. It further signposts severability within judgments and the treatment of non-monetary relief and settlements under the convention.
Does the Convention apply?—transitional provisions
Article 16 of the convention is central when deciding whether the convention governs a matter involving a newly acceding contracting state. For general guidance, see Practice Note: Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—application by contracting states—Application of the convention (Article 16). This article is likewise pertinent to the impact of the UK leaving the EU and becoming a contracting state of the convention in its...
Dispute Resolution
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