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

After rejoining the ICSID Convention in June 2021, Ecuador has made a further contribution to the growth of international arbitration within its borders. On August 18, 2021, President Guillermo Lasso issued Executive Decree No. 165-2021, introducing the Regulations to the Arbitration and Mediation Act (the “Regulations”). Ecuador’s Arbitration and Mediation Act was originally enacted in … Read more

In PBO v DONPRO and others [2021] EWHC 1951 (Comm), the English High Court (the Court) allowed a number of challenges brought by PBO under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) against an arbitral award rendered by the Federation of Cocoa Commerce (FCC) Board of Appeal (the Board). As such, this is an … Read more

In Mount Wellington Mine Ltd v Renewable Energy Co-Operative Ltd [2021] EWHC 1486 (Ch), the English High Court considered a challenge to the jurisdiction of an arbitrator under s. 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act). The Claimant, a landlord, sought to challenge an arbitral award which upheld the jurisdiction of the arbitrator in … Read more

In STA v OFY [2021] EWHC 1574 (Comm), the English High Court refused to grant an extension of time to an applicant seeking to challenge an arbitral award under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act“), in circumstances where the applicant had let lapse a prior extension order. The Court’s analysis in this case … Read more

In the recent decision in Betamax Ltd v State Trading Corporation (Mauritius) [2021] UKPC 14 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the “Privy Council“) found that the Supreme Court of Mauritius was wrong to set aside an international arbitration award on the basis that the award was contrary to the public policy of Mauritius, … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has secured an important victory in Hong Kong proceedings with far-reaching consequences for arbitration disputes around the world. Many commercial contracts contain “escalation clauses” requiring parties to take certain steps before formal arbitration begins – such as a requirement to “negotiate in good faith” before starting arbitration. Previously, failure to comply with … Read more

“Losing does not equate to procedural unfairness” – Justice Martin Losers beware! A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia has reaffirmed its support of the arbitral system and processes, and made it very clear that attempts to circumvent them will be met with short rebuke and may even be the subject of … Read more