Earlier this year, the English High Court handed down a judgment (A v B [2020] EWHC 952 (Comm)) delivering a stern warning to claimants who were considering the enforcement of an arbitration award which did not establish a clear “right to payment” (see our previous blog post in connection with that decision.) In brief, the … Read more

In The Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Process & Industrial Developments Limited [2020] EWHC 2379 (Comm), the English High Court (“Court”) granted the Federal Republic of Nigeria (“Nigeria”) an extension of time to bring challenges to an arbitral award of US$6.6 billion in damages and approximately US$4 billion in costs and interest (“Final Award” or … Read more

In a little heralded development, the Government of India passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 (the “Ordinance”) on 4 November 2020 to amend the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the “Act”) with immediate effect. The Ordinance introduces provisions to stay the enforcement of arbitral awards tainted by fraud, and deletes certain provisions … Read more

On 16 November 2020, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department announced that former Malaysian federal court judge, Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar, has been appointed Director of the Kuala Lumpur-based Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) effective 1 December 2020. The third former judge to take this office and the first in 13 years, Suriyadi will … Read more

The Center on International Commercial Arbitration at the American University Washington College of Law is holding an online conference on 18 November 2020, at which arbitration practitioners will debate the culture of arbitration in Asia and the challenges that lie ahead in the region. To register for the event, which is free to attend, please … Read more

In the recent decision in The Eternal Bliss [2020] EWHC 2327 (Comm), the English High Court (the “Court”) determined a point of law regarding liquidated damages in the context of a standard form shipping contract. This followed the referral to the Court by the parties under s45 Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”) of two questions … Read more

Hong Kong’s District Court has refused to grant an injunction to restrain an arbitrator from acting in an arbitration, on the grounds that there was already another identical application before the court scheduled for hearing and that there was no urgency for granting an “interim-interim” injunction. Read more

In Full Joy Foods Pty Ltd v Australian Dairy Park Pty Ltd [2020] VSC 672, the Victorian Supreme Court confirmed the well-established position in Australia that a party’s entitlement to a ‘fair opportunity to present its case’ does not require an arbitrator to ensure the party takes best advantage of those opportunities presented to it … Read more