On 23 December 2020, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) of China released its bilingual 2019 Annual Report on Judicial Review of Arbitration Cases in China (the “Report”). It is the very first report issued by the SPC summarising the courts’ approach for judicial review of arbitration-related cases. The Report aims to promote the SPC’s efforts … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has issued the latest edition of its India arbitration e-bulletin. In this issue, we consider various court decisions which cover topics such as the limitation period for enforcement of foreign awards, the arbitrability of fraud, ‘patent illegality’ as a ground to set aside awards, and granting of interim directions against non-signatories to … Read more

Sovereign wealth funds invest across a range of asset classes and engage in capital markets and loan transactions. Their engagement in these activities is consistent with that of any other commercial actor. However, the connection between a sovereign wealth fund and the State by which it has been created raises the question of whether the … Read more

In A v D [2020] HKCFI 2887, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance refused to extend time for the applicants (the “Applicants”) to apply to set aside an arbitral award on the basis that the Applicants failed to give any satisfactory explanation for their delay in making the application.  The Court further found that, … Read more

On 27 November 2020, the Chinese Supreme People’s Court and the Hong Kong Department of Justice signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Supplemental Arrangement). The Supplemental Arrangement modifies and supplements the existing Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between 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 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

On 28 October 2020, Sierra Leone deposited its instrument of accession to the UN Secretary General, acceding to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “Convention“). Sierra Leone will become the 166th state party to the Convention, following the recent accession of Ethiopia and Tonga earlier this year. … Read more