The principles governing permanent stays on forum non conveniens grounds (Oceanic Sun Line v Fay; Voth v Manildra) do not apply to applications for a temporary stay or adjournment where parallel proceedings are pending in a foreign jurisdiction. The court retains full control of the proceeding and exercises a broad discretion by reference to a list of factors including which proceeding was commenced first, the degree of overlap in issues, the burden on witnesses, the public interest, and the balance of advantages and disadvantages to each party. Companies within the same international corporate group may be treated as practically affected by the outcome of proceedings involving their associates, even though formal issue estoppel cannot arise between different corporate entities.
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