Rahim Trading, which has its principal place of business in Malaysia, agreed to buy, from Acme, which has its principal place of business in Australia, 500 metric tonnes of Grade 1 Jasmine rice CIF (Singapore) Incoterms 2010, payment to be made in advance. The rice was to be shipped from Thailand. The parties entered into the contract in Singapore and the agreement contained the following terms:
"Clause 1
Acme agrees to provide Grade 1 Jasmine rice, which must be suitable for sale in Singapore.
Clause 2
The parties agree that all disputes arising in connection with this agreement shall be settled by arbitration in Singapore pursuant to the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Payment in US Dollars was made in Singapore upon the signing of the Contract. Acme delivered 500 tonnes of rice to the warehouse of Bangkok Transport Company in Thailand for onward delivery to Rahim. Acme then forwarded the Bill of Lading when it was issued by Bangkok Transport Company. When the rice arrived in Singapore, it was found that 100 tonnes had been infested with weevils. Upon investigation, it has been determined that the rice had become infested during storage in the carrier's warehouse, prior to shipping from Thailand.
Rahim immediately arranged for the weevil-infested rice to be destroyed. Rahim then wrote to Acme demanding a refund for the destroyed rice and also commenced action against Acme in the WA Supreme Court for the refund. Meanwhile, Acme referred the dispute to arbitration in Singapore.
(Australia and Singapore are signatories to the Vienna Convention while Malaysia and Thailand are not. Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are signatories to the New York Convention.)
Based on the above factual situation, answer the following questions:
(i) With reference to art 1, does the Vienna Convention apply to the contract?
Give reasons for your answer. (3 marks)
(ii) What are the rights and obligations of the parties in relation to the destroyed rice? (3 marks)
(iii) How may Acme prevent the action from being heard in the WA Supreme Court? (2 marks)
(iv) Only in this part, assume that the WA Supreme Court action is stayed and the decision of the arbitrators in Singapore is that Acme should refund the price for the 100 tonnes. How may Rahim enforce the award in Perth? (2 marks)