Charles practises as a barrister and arbitrator from 36 Stone in London.
He has been arbitrating since 2002, under LMAA, ICC, SCMA, HKIAC, GAFTA and FOSFA Rules; he also takes appointments in ad hoc references.
Charles has either decided or appeared in 200 references, ranging from small values to USD100m. Charles attracts appointments in all aspects of dry shipping disputes, international sales of commodities and other goods, letters of credit and bank guarantees, energy, ship management, and super-yacht disputes and more general international commercial contact matters. He has had several of his Awards approved on reference up to the Courts, among which most recently:
- Soufflet Negoce v Bunge [2011] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 531 on the readiness of the vessel in fob sales.
- The Darya Radhe [2009] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 175 on dangerous goods in the carriage of goods by sea.
- Sanhe Hope v Toepfer [2008] 1 Lloyds Rep 458 on the measure of damages in sale contracts.
Charles has written prolifically in his areas of expertise, concentrating in particular on the complex relationships between charterparties and bills of lading and the underlying contracts of sale and letters of credit. His writing has frequently been cited in courts in the UK and abroad, for example in:
- Profindo Pte Ltd v Abani Trading Pte Ltd 2013 SGHC 10, Court of Appeal, Singapore
- AP Moller-Maersk v Sonaec Villas [2011] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 1 on straight bills of lading.
- The Mercini Lady [2009] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 679 on certificate final clauses.
- The Rafaela S [2005] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 347 on straight bills of lading.
- The Starsin [2003] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 371 on the identity of the carrier in cargo claims.
- Uco Bank v Golden Shore Transportation [2005] SGCA 42, Singapore Court of Appeals, on the endorsement of bills of lading.