English courts

Arbitration Act 1996, Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, Helice Leasing, LCIA Rules

, , (Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent High Court case, it was held that a reference in a contract to the “court” did not mean a court at all but meant instead – perhaps alarmingly – arbitration. This decision in Helice Leasing S.A.S. v PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) TbK [2021] EWHC 99 (Comm) may be a cause of concern…

2020 In Review, Applicable Law, Arbitration Agreement, Australia, English courts, French Law, Governing Law, Law governing the arbitration agreement, Pacific Islands, Paris Court of Appeal, Proper law of arbitration agreement, Singapore, Sweden

(Mihaela Maravela Law Office) and , / /Leave a comment

2020 saw important case law developments concerning the proper law of arbitration agreements, where the seat of the arbitration is in a different jurisdiction from the governing law of the main contract, particularly in the UK. However, various jurisdictions have adopted different approaches to this issue. It remains to be seen which jurisdictions will follow…

Common Law, England, English courts, Law governing the arbitration agreement, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Validation

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Much has been written about the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Enka v Chubb [2020] UKSC 38 (“Enka”) including on the blog. Those familiar with the judgment will know the Supreme Court decision was split 3 – 2 and the majority upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision but on different grounds. These divisions may give…

Anti-suit injunction, Arbitrability, English courts, Insolvency

and (Brunel University London)/ /Leave a comment

On 23 September 2020, the England and Wales High Court (“High Court”) rendered its judgment in Riverrock Securities Limited v International Bank of St Petersburg (Joint Stock Company) granting Riverrock Securities Limited (“RSL”) an interim anti-suit injunction in respect of bankruptcy proceedings in Russia brought against RSL by the receiver of the International Bank of…

Anti-suit injunction, Arbitration Agreement, Choice of Law, English courts, International arbitration, Law governing the arbitration agreement, Proper law of arbitration agreement, UK Supreme Court, Validation

(Mihaela Maravela Law Office)/ /Leave a comment

In its recent decision of 9 October 2020 in Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO “Insurance Company Chubb” & Ors [2020] UKSC 38 (Enka), the UK Supreme Court upheld the decision of the England and Wales Court of Appeal earlier this year restraining Chubb Russia from proceeding with parallel court proceedings in Russia, but…

Arbitration Act 1996, English courts, ICC Rules, International arbitration, LCIA Arbitration, LCIA Rules, Section 68 challenge

(Squire Patton Boggs)/ /Leave a comment

The judgment issued by the High Court of England and Wales in Xstrata Coal Queensland P Ltd & Anor v Benxi Iron & Steel (Group) International Economic & Trading Co (Xstrata) is a rare example of a successful challenge brought under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (“the Act”). It serves as a reminder…

Anti-enforcement Injunction, Anti-suit injunction, Comity, Conflict of Laws, Enforcement, English courts, Situs of a Debt

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In the recent decision in SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 599 (“SAS”), the English Court of Appeal addressed issues including the situs of a debt, the proper approach to anti-enforcement injunctions, and how considerations of comity arise in the enforcement of foreign decisions.   Facts In 2009, SAS, a North…

Enforcement, English courts, Estoppel, New York Convention

(Hogan Lovells)/ /1 Comment
YIAG

The recent English High Court decision in Carpatsky Petroleum Corporation v PJSC Ukrnafta [2020] EWHC 769 (Comm) provides useful guidance on the English courts’ approach to determining whether a party is entitled to resist the enforcement of an award on one of the grounds set out in s. 103(2) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (which…

Arbitration Act 1996, English Arbitration Act, English courts, Foreign Dispute, UK, Witness Statement

, (Squire Patton Boggs)/ /Leave a comment

In A and B v C, D and E [2020] EWCA Civ 409, the English Court of Appeal issued on 19 March 2020 an order compelling a non-party to arbitration proceedings seated in New York to give evidence in support of the arbitration.   The Arbitration The dispute arose under two settlement agreements between A…

Arbitration Agreement, Choice of Law, English courts, Express choice, International arbitration, Law governing the arbitration agreement, Proper law of arbitration agreement

(Mihaela Maravela Law Office)/ /Leave a comment

In the recent ruling of 29 April 2020, the England and Wales Court of Appeal, departing from Sulamérica, has held the seat of arbitration as an implied choice of the law of the arbitration agreement in cases where parties expressly chose the law applicable to the main contract and the seat of arbitration under a…

Achmea, Enforcement, English courts, EU Withdrawal Act, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, UK, UK Supreme Court

(E&A Law Limited)/ /1 Comment

In its unanimous decision in the Micula case the UK Supreme Court on 19 February 2020 made clear that ICSID arbitral awards rendered by tribunals established pursuant to intra-EU BITs could be enforced in the UK. As explained by Guillaume Croisant in his blog post on 20 February, the UK Supreme Court overruled the Court…

Awards, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, Procedural Order, Set aside an arbitral award

, (Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The English High Court (the Court) has recently issued two judgments clarifying its approach to determining whether a decision by an arbitral tribunal is an award or a procedural order. A few months ago in ZCCM Investment Holdings PLC v Kansanshi Holdings PLC & Anor (ZCCM), the Court identified a list of factors that it…

Arbitration, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, International arbitration, Precedent

(Beechey Arbitration)/ /1 Comment

The topic of precedent in international arbitration is not an idle one. It is widely accepted that the existence and use of precedent in any legal system leads to predictability, consistency and equality of treatment. Indeed, one of the eight strands that according to the late Lord Bingham (as summarised by Lord Neuberger) make up…

Common Law, English Arbitration Act, English courts, Evidence, International arbitration

(Advocate, Arbitrator and Mediator) and (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Clyde & Co.

It is often said that flexibility is a cornerstone of international arbitration and that the tribunal (typically in consultation with the parties) is the master of how the proceedings are to be conducted. Yet, it remains unsettled whether certain specific rules of procedure or evidence must be complied with in arbitration – sometimes, at the…

England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law

(Chartered Institute of Arbitrators)/ /2 Comments
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)

The Roebuck lecture, delivered this year on 13 June 2019, is an annual gathering of renowned scholars, practicing lawyers, arbitrators, students and arbitration enthusiasts. It pays tribute to Professor Derek Roebuck MCIArb, the arbitration historian who made an invaluable contribution to the Institute’s work and development, in particular as editor of the CIArb’s prestigious academic…

England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, Mareva Injunction

( ILS Law College, Pune)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

A Mareva injunction or a freezing injunction is a form of ad personam interim relief, which is usually sought during the pendency of court or arbitration proceedings or once the proceedings are completed and a verdict is rendered, but before the judgement/award is enforced and executed. This form of injunction is essentially sought by a…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, International arbitration, LIDW 2019, London, Maritime Arbitration, Shipping

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

Shipping disputes might range from minor issues to complex jurisdictional claims with several parties involved in the contracts. Due to the popularity and observed benefits of arbitration, such as the privacy of the arbitral process and perceived certainty in the binding nature of arbitral awards, arbitral agreements have grown in use with the increase in…

Arbitrators, English Arbitration Act, English courts, Set aside an arbitral award

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In RJ v HB [2018] EWHC 2833 (Comm) (‘RJ’), Andrew Baker J (‘Baker J’) found that the facts disclosed a serious irregularity under s68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (‘the Act’).1)The author wishes to thank Ms Rachel Foxton, Mr Harry Francis Millerchip, and Ms Jenna Hare. The views in this article should not be…

Additional Award, Allocation of costs, Arbitrability, Arbitral Award, Arbitration, Arbitrator's Fees, Arbitrators, Dispute, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law

, , (Signature Litigation)/ /1 Comment

A little under ten years ago Sir Rupert Jackson proposed significant reforms to reduce the costs of litigation in England and Wales. It is fair to say that while his reforms have received both praise and criticism over the past decade, they are largely considered to have been a success in curtailing the costs of…

Anti-suit injunction, Brexit, English courts, English Law

(Enyo Law LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In one of Voltaire’s most famous tales, two characters continuously dispute their visions of the world, and whilst Pangloss is always looking for a cause for all small events fitting into a broader system, Candide, optimistic, prefers to look at how he himself can change the world not by pursuing its meaning, but with his…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Brussels Regulation, Enforcement, English courts, English Law, European Law, New York Convention

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The Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters of 27 September 1968 was superseded by Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters. The latter was subsequently repealed by Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 of the…

Enforcement, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, England, English courts

, , (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /1 Comment

A recent decision by the English Court shows once again the very high bar that a claimant must reach to enforce an award that had been set aside by the court at the seat of jurisdiction. The judgment handed down in Maximov v OJSC Novolipetsky Metallurgichesky Kombinat [2017] EWHC 1911 (Comm) on 27 July 2017…

Arbitrator Challenges, arbitrators’ conduct, Deliberations, Disclosure, English courts, Secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal, Tribunal Secretary, Tribunal's assistant

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The English High Court has reinforced its pro-arbitration stance in two recent judgments in the case of P v Q [2017] EWHC 148 (Comm.) and [2017] EWHC 194 (Comm.). Much attention has been devoted to the failed application under section 24 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”) to remove the arbitral tribunal on…

Antitrust arbitration, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Proceedings, Competition Law, Enforcement, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, European Law, European Union, International arbitration

(University of Aberdeen)/ /Leave a comment

My previous blog post on this topic dealt with two issues stemming from the juxtaposition between the current arbitration legal framework and necessary due process requirements which are specifically developed for antitrust damages proceedings: (1) the necessary regulation of complex arbitration specifically designed for antitrust damages matters, and (2) the need to address information asymmetry…