[1] Wet sulphur was loaded onto two ships docked in British Columbia causing damage to them.

An action was brought in England by the Liberian owners of the Spiliada for the damage to the ship against the sulphur exporter.

Prior to the present case, an application for a stay or dismissal of proceedings falling within the proper jurisdiction of the court could only be granted on very narrow grounds.

In his judgment, Lord Goff summarised what he felt to be the current state of the law governing forum non conveniens: In his concurrence, Lord Templeman noted the complexity of the case at hand, observing that, "In the present case, a vessel managed partly in Greece and partly in England, flying the flag of Liberia and owned by a Liberian corporation is said to have been damaged by a cargo loaded by a British Columbia shipper and carried from Vancouver to India.

[6] The standard, however, has been rejected by Australia, where it has been held that a local court can only decline to exercise jurisdiction if it can be established that it is a clearly inappropriate forum.