Is the introduction of international sanctions against a person sufficient to justify a move of the agreed dispute resolution forum to Russia? This has been a hot topic for discussion since June 2020. In JSC Uraltransmash v PESA (case No. А60-36897/2020) the Supreme Court has put an end to this debate. On 9 December 2021, … Read more

Justin D’Agostino, global Chief Executive Officer at Herbert Smith Freehills, has been appointed as the new co-chair of the Arbitration Pledge (the Pledge) Global Steering Committee. The Pledge seeks to increase, on an equal opportunity basis, the number of women appointed as arbitrators in order to achieve fair representation. Having been central to the establishment … Read more

In the recent judgment of T v B [2021] HKCFI 3645, the High Court of Hong Kong observed that “if the Court is the master of its own procedural rules, so should be the arbitral tribunal“. In so doing, the Court reaffirmed the principle that compliance with pre-conditions to arbitration is a question of admissibility, … Read more

We are pleased to invite you to attend “Digital Disputes and decentralised justice: the possible vs the practical in arbitration”, which Herbert Smith Freehills will be hosting in association with Lexology and GAR. Read more

On 7 December 2021, the Commercial Court in Tenke Fungurume Mining S.A. v Katanga Contracting Services S.A.S, [2021] EWHC 3301 (Comm), refused a challenge to an arbitral award brought on the basis of the tribunal’s award of the costs of third party funding to the successful party, finding that it did not constitute a serious … Read more

In the case of CDE v NOP [2021] EWCA Civ 1908, the English Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether, in court proceedings which overlapped with the subject matter of an LCIA arbitration, a case management conference should have been held in public or private, and whether an upcoming summary judgment application should also … Read more

In a recent decision, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance stayed a winding-up petition on just and equitable grounds in favour of arbitration, and refused to require the applicant to satisfy the more onerous test as is applied to a case management stay. China Europe International Business School v Chengwei Evergreen Capital LP (formerly … Read more

We are very proud to announce that London-based arbitration partner Chris Parker has been appointed Queen’s Counsel (QC) in England and Wales. Chris will be the third QC currently practising at Herbert Smith Freehills. He joins a prestigious line of QC talent from Herbert Smith Freehills over the years, including The Right Honourable The Lord … Read more