English Law

Arbitration Act 1996, Arbitration Act 2025, England, English Arbitration Act, English Law, LCIA, LCIA Arbitration, LCIA Rules, Uncategorized

(London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA))/ /Leave a comment

The highly anticipated English Arbitration Bill has received Royal Assent, with the Bill enacted as the Arbitration Act 2025 (“2025 Act”). The 2025 Act modernises and amends the Arbitration Act 1996 (“1996 Act”), with the substantive amendments coming into force through regulation(s) on a date to be announced. The 2025 Act provides welcome legal clarity…

English courts, English Law, Freezing Orders, Injunction, UK

(Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK LLP)/ /1 Comment

The freezing injunction, famously referred to as one of the law’s “nuclear weapons,” is a remedy developed for the purposes of preventing a judgment debtor (or potential judgment debtor) from unjustly dissipating their assets so as to prevent the judgment made against them from being enforced. This post explores how post-award freezing injunctions can be…

Anti-suit injunction, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law

(Bankside Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

In UniCredit Bank GmbH v RusChemAlliance LLC [2024] UKSC 30 (UniCredit), the UK Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) could be issued by English courts in support of foreign-seated arbitrations, where the arbitration agreement is governed by English law.  The Supreme Court’s decision brought welcome finality to a series of decisions with divergent…

2024 in Review, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, Ireland, UK

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2024 has been another fruitful year for arbitration developments in the British Isles. As part of the 2024 Year in Review series, this post considers the key judicial, legislative and institutional developments in England and Wales in the past year, as well as highlights from Ireland’s arbitration landscape.   Judicial Developments in England and Wales…

Challenge of Arbitral Award, England, English courts, English Law, Jurisdiction, Section 68 challenge, UK

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On 9 August 2024, the Commercial High Court of England and Wales (the “Court”) has declined to set aside the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) investment award issued in Diag & Mr. Josef Stava v Czech Republic (the “Award”), rejecting the jurisdictional challenges raised by the Czech Republic (the “Judgement”). The Czech Republic challenged the…

Arbitration Act 1996, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, Governing Law, Uncategorized

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

The English Arbitration Bill, introduced to UK Parliament in November 2023, aimed to ensure that the Arbitration Act 1996 remained fit for purpose and maintained England’s status as a leading destination for commercial arbitration. However, the bill was lost when the 2024 UK general election was called. In July 2024 the new government reintroduced the…

Arbitration Act, Arbitration Act 1996, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, English courts, English Law

(Seladore Legal)/ /Leave a comment

The confidentiality of arbitrations seated in England is long-established in English law. In the absence of an express agreement to dispense with confidentiality, English law recognises an implied obligation on parties and arbitrators to maintain the confidentiality of the hearing, the award and other materials produced in the proceedings (Dolling-Baker v Merrett [1990] 1 WLR…

England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, Insolvency, Privy Council

(WilmerHale)/ /Leave a comment

On 19 June 2024, the Privy Council issued its decision in Sian Participation Corp (In Liquidation) v Halimeda International Ltd [2024] UKPC 16, holding that winding up proceedings should not be automatically stayed or dismissed by the court where the disputed debt is subject to an arbitration agreement. Instead, the correct test to be applied…

English courts, English Law, Virtual hearings, Witness

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Taking witness evidence by video has long been considered acceptable practice in many jurisdictions.  The Covid-19 pandemic of recent years has further affirmed the acceptability and use of this method of evidence-taking in both litigation and arbitration proceedings, especially since the only alternative to a remote hearing during those years was the even less desirable…

Brazilian Arbitration Act, CAM, COVID-19, Eastern Europe, Economic Sanctions, English courts, English Law, French Law, French Supreme Court, Italy, LCIA, Nigeria, Nigeria Arbitration and Mediation Act, Revision of Award, Russia, Sanctions, UK Supreme Court, Ukraine, UNIDROIT Principles

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On 13 June 2024, Italian Arbitration Day took place in Rome. The full-day conference saw a large number of arbitration practitioners dealing with the issue of globalization and geography in the arbitration. This post offers an overview of the key takeaways from the discussion.   Introduction: The Past, Present, and Future of Globalization   After…

Apparent bias, Arbitration, Arbitration Act 1996, Arbitrator Bias, Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrators, England, English courts, English Law, International arbitration, UK

(Peter Ashford Ltd)/ /1 Comment

In a recent judgement rendered in H1 and another v W and others [2024] EWHC 382, the English Commercial Court removed a sole arbitrator under section 24 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the “EEA”).  This removal was based on statements made by the arbitrator regarding the way he would treat expert witness evidence that gave rise…

Conference, ECT Modernisation, Energy Charter Treaty, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, EU Law, Europe, European Court of Justice, LIDW 2024, UK

(Bucerius Law School), (Avizor Advocates & Arbitrators), (BonelliErede), and / /Leave a comment

The role of the United Kingdom (“UK”), particularly London, and of the European Union (“EU”) in the landscape of investment arbitration has been a central topic of discussions during the London International Dispute Week 2024 (“LIDW”). This post aims to provide a non-exhaustive account of some of the events which tackled this theme. On the…

Enforcement, English Law, UK

(A&O Shearman)/ /Leave a comment

On 14 April 2024, the English Commercial Court granted Crescent Gas Corporation Limited (“CGC”) ownership of a London property to assist it (partially) to recover a USD 2.6 billion judgment debt owed by the National Iranian Oil Company (“NIOC”).  This post explores the court’s decision and key takeaways for practitioners particularly regarding enforcement strategies.  …

Emergency Arbitrator, English Arbitration Act, English Law

(Khan Saifur Rahman & Associates)/ /Leave a comment

Following the recommendations of the Law Commission of the UK (here, here and here), the English Arbitration Act 1996 (EAA) is presently undergoing a substantial reform phase after nearly 27 years. The Arbitration Bill is now before the House of Lords. As appears from the Arbitration Bill and the Commission’s recommendations, the English arbitration law…

Arbitration Act 1996, Assignment, English Law

, (Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes)/ /Leave a comment

Assignment issues are often of decisive importance in international arbitrations given the hard-edged nature of questions of jurisdiction, title, and standing. These issues are often less simple than they would first appear, especially in cases involving the interaction of multiple legal systems, complex financing arrangements, insurance or insolvency. On 12 January 2024, the English Court…

Cross-examination, England, English courts, English Law, UK, UK Supreme Court

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The UK Supreme Court (“UKSC”) in Tui UK Ltd v. Griffiths [2023] UKSC 48 recently considered the question whether a party must challenge a witness and expert evidence in cross-examination if it wants to have that evidence discredited or disregarded.  The Supreme Court affirmed the rule in Browne v Dunn that a party must “put”…

England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law

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The UK Supreme Court (‘UKSC’) addressed the meaning of ‘matter’ in Article II(3) of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (‘NYC’) in its judgment of 20 September 2023 in Republic of Mozambique v Privinvest Shipbuilding SAL (Holding) [2023] UKSC 32 (‘Mozambique v Privinvest’). This post examines the…

Anti-suit injunction, English Law

, (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) are orders which a court or arbitral tribunal may issue to restrain a party from commencing or continuing a proceeding in another jurisdiction. Several recent decisions have considered whether English courts should grant ASIs pursuant to section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 and/or section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996…

English Law, Germany, SchiedsVZ, Switzerland

(CMS Hasche Sigle) and (GE Power Conversion)/ /Leave a comment

Large cases with detailed, extensive submissions and hundreds, if not thousands, of annexes, often lead to a degree of complexity that is hardly digestible. The handling of such cases, most prominently of delay and disruption claims, therefore poses a challenge to practitioners, experts and arbitrators. Common law jurisdictions have developed a specific way to deal…

Enforcement, England, English courts, English Law

, (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Securing a favourable arbitral award is not trivial. It involves a lot of work, a wait of, potentially, several years and the expense of the arbitral process. After all this, when a favourable award has, hopefully, been obtained, the last thing any client wants is to enter into yet another fight to enforce the award….

Arbitration Agreements, English Law, French Law, Governing Law, Singapore, Vietnam

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The inaugural Vietnam ADR Week (“VAW”) took place in Ho Chi Minh City from 9 to 12 May 2023. As a sponsor of VAW, Vietnamese law firm, YKVN, organized a discussion panel on 10 May 2023 on a comparative analysis of the approaches taken by various national courts towards the governing law of the arbitration…

Arbitration Agreements, English Law, French Law, Separability, Singapore, Vietnam

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The inaugural Vietnam ADR Week (“VAW”) took place in Ho Chi Minh City from 9 to 12 May 2023. As a sponsor of VAW, Vietnamese law firm YKVN organized a discussion panel on 10 May 2023 on a comparison of the interplay of the separability doctrine and questions relating to formation and validity of arbitration…

English Arbitration Act, English Law, LIDW 2023, London

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This post summarizes two events held as part of Day 3 of the 2023 London International Dispute Week (“LIDW”). First, the panel “Developments in the Arbitration Law of England & Wales: Impact on Arbitration Globally and London’s Place in the World” organized by Debevoise & Plimpton. Second, the joint special event organized by the School…

England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, LIDW 2023, Reform

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London International Disputes Week 2023 (“LIDW 2023”) kicked off on 15 May 2023. This year’s theme explores how the disputes community, is and should be, adapting to a changing world. The first day – International Arbitration Day (hosted by Mayer Brown, Allen & Overy, and Herbert Smith Freehills) – followed the “arbitration disputes sun” across…