J. H. Rayner v. Department of Trade and Industry
England and Wales Court of Appeal
3 All ER 257 (1988)
- Written by Curtis Parvin, JD
Facts
The International Tin Council (ITC) was an international organization with 23 member nations, including the United Kingdom (UK). The purpose of the ITC was to stabilize the tin market. The ITC had the ability, under the Sixth International Tin Agreement (ITA6), to contract, acquire, and dispose of property in its own name and resolve disputes via arbitration. The ITC’s headquarters was in London, England, as acknowledged by the UK, but the ITC was not incorporated under English law, and England had not adopted the ITA6. In 1985, the ITC collapsed and ceased trading, owing hundreds of millions in pounds to debtors. The creditors, including J.H. Rayner and Maclain Watson (the creditors) (plaintiffs), brought multiple actions in London against the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (defendant) as the representative of the 23 member nations and others, contending that the members were liable for the debts of the ITC. The trial court dismissed the claims, holding that the creditors could not state a valid claim against ITC’s member states. The creditors appealed to the England and Wales Court of Appeal in London, England.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
