In SQD v QYP [2023] EWHC 2145 (Comm), the English Commercial Court refused to issue an anti-suit injunction (ASI) and anti-enforcement injunction to stop proceedings commenced by a claimant in its home country in breach of an arbitration agreement. The court reasoned that such an injunction would be inconsistent with the French courts’ approach to … Read more

The Law Commission today published its much anticipated Final Report on the English Arbitration Act (the Act), accompanied by a draft Bill. Although the Law Commission has emphasised that “root and branch reform is not needed or wanted“, the report nonetheless makes several significant recommendations for change and proposes other more minor amendments. The main … Read more

On August 11, 2023, the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CAM Santiago) introduced new rules on emergency arbitration (EA) to its domestic Arbitration Rules, through the inclusion of a new article 21 bis and a new Title IX (EA Regulation).  The EA Regulation will enter into force on September 1, … Read more

The inaugural Edinburgh International Arbitration Festival (ArbFest), hosted by the Scottish Arbitration Centre, will be held on 21 and 22 September 2023, a year on from the record-breaking International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Congress which was also held in Edinburgh. Herbert Smith Freehills is a proud sponsor of ArbFest 2023 and both our CEO Justin … Read more

London-based Construction Disputes Partner David Nitek will be speaking at the King’s College London International Construction Arbitration Conference, on 14 September 2023. For more information, please see our post on the Construction Notes blog or contact David Nitek. Read more

In Reeves v Alt Advisory (Jersey) Limited and Alt Financial Group Limited [2023] VSC 249 (Reeves), the Supreme Court of Victoria has enforced a private binding foreign arbitral award (arbitral award) issued pursuant to an arbitration agreement contained in an employment contract. The Court, of its own motion (the respondent did not appear in the … Read more

In Song Lihua v Lee Chee Hong [2023] HKCFI 1954, the Court of First Instance considered whether arbitrators can be compelled to give evidence in proceedings to challenge their awards, in this case an application to set aside an order granting leave to enforce in Hong Kong an arbitral award of the Chengdu Arbitration Commission. … Read more

In Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v Mrs Xiaomin Zhang [2023] EWHC 1964 (Comm), the English Commercial Court has rejected a challenge to an arbitration award on the grounds of public policy. Although the applicant argued that the terms of the underlying contract were unfair for the purposes of English consumer legislation, the court held that … Read more