The Law Society of England and Wales has recently launched a new initiative to highlight the attractions of English law and of England and Wales as a leading international legal centre, with key benefits including an independent judiciary, reliable courts and predictable outcomes. Its International Data Insights Report 2023: Global Position of English Law is intended to … Read more

On 1 November 2023, in Hulley v Russian Federation [2023] EWHC 2704 (Comm), Mrs Justice Cockerill in the English High Court (the Court) dismissed a jurisdictional challenge brought by the Russian Federation (Russia) in proceedings for the enforcement of two arbitral awards issued in favour of the former majority shareholders in OAO Yukos Oil Company … Read more

In JOL and JWL v JPM [2023] EWHC 2486 (Comm), the English High Court has dismissed an application for interim injunctions, finding the requirement of urgency under s44(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) had not been met. The decision illustrates that the Court will exercise caution in granting s44(3) orders to enforce disputed … Read more

Observing that “the facts and circumstances of this case… are remarkable” and that he did not do so “without reluctance” Knowles J upholds challenge to tribunal’s awards but leaves their ultimate fate open. In the latest decision in a decade long case that has already seen Nigeria granted an “unprecedented” extension of almost three years … Read more

Introduction In Republic of Mozambique v Privinvest Shipbuilding SAL and others [2023] UKSC 32, the Supreme Court has unanimously found the Republic of Mozambique (Mozambique)’s claims for, among other things, bribery, conspiracy and dishonest assistance against the defendants to be “matters” which fall outside the scope of the arbitration agreements in a number of related … Read more

In Viking Trading OU v Louis Dreyfus Suisse SA [2023] EWHC 2160 (Comm) the English Commercial Court clarified its discretionary power to grant costs of defending a s69 application under the English Act (Act) for permission to appeal an arbitral award, even if costs were not initially sought. This decision provides helpful guidance on best … Read more

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

In DHL Project & Chartering Ltd v Gemini Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd [2022] EWCA 1555, the Court of Appeal considered whether an arbitration agreement was binding on the parties in circumstances where a pre-condition to the effectiveness of the contract had not been satisfied. In dismissing the application to set aside the arbitral award for … Read more