No contract, no arbitration agreement? The separability principle explained

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

English High Court confirms that a non-participating party may contest jurisdiction even though an arbitrator has been appointed

In National Investment Bank Ltd v Eland International (Thailand) Co. Ltd and another [2022] EWHC 1168 (Comm), the English High Court considered the interaction between sections 72(1) and 18 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act“). Section 72(1) allows a non-participating party to an arbitration to seek a declaration from the English Court as … Read more

The English court retains its robust approach to challenges to arbitral awards: Commercial Court releases its statistics

The Judiciary of England and Wales has published the Commercial Court Report 2020-2021 (The Report). These reports are released annually to give an overview of the courts’ work and decision-making. For arbitration practitioners, they also provide insight into the number of applications made before the English court to challenge arbitral awards and how these applications are … Read more

English Court sets aside award on the ground that the arbitral tribunal lacked substantive jurisdiction

In DHL Project & Chartering Ltd v Gemini Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd [2022] EWHC 181 (Comm), the Commercial Court has set aside an arbitral award under s67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act“) on the basis that the arbitral tribunal lacked substantive jurisdiction. The case concerned a “subjects” provision which required “shipper/receiver’s approval“. The … Read more

DETERRING AND SANCTIONING “SPECULATIVE” CHALLENGES TO ARBITRAL AWARDS IN THE ENGLISH COURT: REVISIONS TO THE COMMERCIAL COURT GUIDE

In 2013 the English Court introduced provisions into section O of the Commercial Court Guide designed to deter parties from mounting “speculative” challenges of arbitral awards on the grounds of serious irregularity under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) (see our blog post here). Small additional changes were also made in 2017. Yesterday … Read more

GAFTA RULES PERMIT CLAIMS UNDER MULTIPLE CONTRACTS IN SINGLE NOTICE OF ARBITRATION, SAYS ENGLISH COURT (THIS TIME)

In the recent decision in LLC Agronefteprodukt v Ameropa AG [2021] EWHC 3473 (Comm), the English Commercial Court (the ‘Court’) dismissed a jurisdictional challenge under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the ‘Act’), finding that a single Notice of Arbitration validly commenced separate arbitration proceedings. The decision is of particular interest given that the … Read more