Commentary: Rule 17 Forbearance

17.1 No prejudice to the present case

As appears from the comments on several Rules, the handling of a P&I case is an ongoing process of nautical, technical and legal investigations and considerations. Such investigations are necessary to decide the extent of the Member’s liability against those who suffered loss or injury and also to determine whether the liability is covered under these Rules. No action taken or statement made by the Club at any stage of the handling of a case should be considered as a waiver of the Club’s rights under these Rules if, through further investigations or developments, it appears that the action taken or statement made was wrong or founded on incomplete or inadequate information.

17.2 No prejudice to other cases

Furthermore, the Rule means that if the Club has taken action on behalf of the Member or allowed compensation or exercised its discretion to post security under these Rules, the decision should not prejudice or bind the Club to act in the same way in cases concerning that Member or other Members.