Never miss another article.
Subscribe to our mailing list today.

Worth Knowing

Everything you wanted to know about International Humanitarian Law and how to moot it (but were afraid to ask)

Although we can help you with a wide array of legal issues at StevensVuaran Lawyers, it is fair to say that our International Humanitarian Law (IHL) practice is not enormous.   In that field of law, the people you want to speak to are the Australian Red Cross (as part of the International Red Cross and

Read more
June 21
2018
SVL in the community

Say it isn’t so – the oral variation of contracts which prohibit oral variation

If a contract says that it can only be varied in writing, then it can only be varied in writing, yes? Well, actually (under Australian law), it ain’t necessarily so.  Perhaps surprisingly, Australian law will give effect to oral variations of contracts even if the contract contains a “no oral variation” (or as it is

Read more
June 15
2018
Commercial Law Litigation and dispute resolution

Do US and Australian laws have different slants on “scandalous” trade marks?

In the US Supreme Court last week, a band called The Slants had a big win. The band, who are apparently “the world’s first and only all-Asian American dance rock band”, had applied to register their band name as a trade mark. Registration had been refused on the basis of a legislative provision which prohibited

Read more
June 25
2017
Intellectual property law

Exclusive! Exclusive! Jurisdiction clauses in international contracts

If you skim to the end of most contracts, you should find clauses of the kind which are often described as “midnight clauses”.  These are clauses dealing with the proper law of the contract, the jurisdiction (or forum) for the resolution of disputes, and (in some cases) providing for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, such as arbitration.

Read more
June 12
2017
International dispute resolution International trade law