Members of the HSF Paris disputes team have played a key role in obtaining a successful ICSID award for Chèque Déjeuner ("CD"), the French meal voucher issuer. The claim related to tax reforms introduced by the Orban government which effectively… Read more

In Micula & Ors v Romania [2018] EWCA Civ 1801 the English Court of Appeal (the "Court") dismissed an appeal against the High Court's stay of enforcement of a 2013 ICSID award in favour of Swedish investors Ioan and Viorel… Read more

In a decision dated 24 August 2018, the English Commercial Court (the “Court“) dismissed Dreymoor Fertilisers Overseas PTE Ltd's (“Dreymoor“) application to continue an injunction preventing the enforcement of an order of a U.S. court granting discovery under section 1782… Read more

Head of Herbert Smith Freehills' Global Arbitration Practice, Paula Hodges QC has been appointed President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) Court, effective May 2019. Paula has headed Herbert Smith Freehills' global arbitration practice since 2008 and has… Read more

Drawing on two surveys on the use of arbitration in technology, media and telecoms disputes, Susan Field, a senior associate and solicitor advocate at Herbert Smith Freehills in London, considers whether parties in the TMT sector are moving away from… Read more

In Mercato Sports v Everton[1], the English High Court found that two parties were bound by an implied horizontal contract containing an arbitration clause. Accordingly, it granted a stay of proceedings under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 ('S9… Read more

The English Court (the "Court") has dismissed an application by Ukraine to set aside a court order permitting Russian investor, PAO Tatneft, to enforce an arbitral award against Ukraine.  Ukraine argued that it was immune from the Court's jurisdiction by… Read more

On 17 July 2018, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was formally signed during the EU-Japan summit in Tokyo.  The EPA – the largest free trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU – has been years in the making and… Read more

We are delighted to share with you the latest issue of the publication from the Herbert Smith Freehills Global Arbitration Practice, Inside Arbitration. In addition to sharing knowledge and insight about the markets and industries in which our clients operate,… Read more

The London Court of International Arbitration (the LCIA) and the Government of Mauritius have announced the termination of their joint venture which established the LCIA-MIAC Arbitration Centre. LCIA-MIAC was created in 2011 as a focal point for international arbitration in… Read more

In Reliance Industries Limited & Ors v The Union of India [2018] EWHC 822 (Comm) the English commercial court (the Court) considered a number of challenges to parts of an arbitration award brought under sections 67, 68 and 69 of… Read more

The White Paper published yesterday, "The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union", includes the UK Government's proposal for the resolution of disputes between the UK and the EU under what the UK Government views as an… Read more

In the recent case of X v Y [2018] EWHC 741 (Comm), the English High Court dismissed an application to set aside an arbitral award under s68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) on the basis that the… Read more

The English Commercial Court (the Court) has considered[1] the principles governing contractual time-bars and an application under s12 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) to extend a contractually agreed limitation period to allow the claimant to bring claims… Read more

In Grindrod Shipping Pte Ltd v Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd, the English High Court ("the Court") rejected an application under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 ("the Act") to challenge an Award (the "Award"). Six years after the proceedings… Read more

In Nori Holdings Limited et al v PJSC Bank Okritie Financial Corporation [2018] EWHC 1343 (Comm) the English court has applied the Recast Brussels Regulation, finding that the West Tankers principle remains applicable and, as a consequence, refused to grant… Read more

In the most recent decision in the Sabbagh family feud, Sabbagh v Khoury & Ors [2018] EWHC 1330 (Comm), the English Commercial Court ordered the stay of parallel Lebanon-seated arbitration proceedings. This was despite the tribunal in that case having… Read more

In Atlas Power v National Transmission and Despatch Company Ltd [2018] EWHC 1052 the English High Court granted a final anti-suit injunction to permanently restrain a national grid company owned by the Government of Pakistan ("NTDC") from challenging an LCIA… Read more

The Netherlands has released a new draft investment treaty for public comment ("Draft BIT").  If adopted, the Draft BIT may raise questions about the Kingdom's attractiveness for foreign investors who have long taken advantage of Dutch treaty protections by structuring… Read more

In a recent decision, Goodwood Investments Holdings Inc. v Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG [2018] EWHC 1056 (Comm), the English court has considered a section 45 request for a ruling on a preliminary point of law. Requests of this nature are… Read more

In a decision dated 24 April 2018, the English Commercial Court (the "Court") dismissed  challenges brought under s67 and s32 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the "Act") by Dreymoor Fertilisers Overseas PTE Ltd. ("Dreymoor"). The case concerned the construction… Read more

In its recent decision in SCM Financial Overseas Ltd v Raga Establishment Ltd [2018] EWHC 1008 (Comm) (available here), the English High Court ("Court") refused to set aside an award on the ground of serious irregularity in circumstances where the… Read more

On 29 April 2018, the Judiciary of England and Wales published the Commercial Court Users' Group Meeting Report – March 2018. Contained within that report are some statistics regarding the number and outcome of arbitration claims within the Commercial Court… Read more

The 8th Annual GAR Live London conference takes place on 10th May. Attracting in-house counsel, arbitrators, arbitration counsel and other arbitration stakeholders from around the world, this year's GAR Live London agenda will focus on a number of practical discussion… Read more

The LCIA has recently released its Casework Report for 2017. This report provides an overview of and insights into the LCIA's caseload. It includes detailed statistics concerning aspects of the caseload with a breakdown by sector, contract type, and time elapsed… Read more

On 20 March, 2018 the Council of the European Union published negotiating directives dated 1 March 2018 authorizing the European Commission to negotiate a convention establishing a multilateral court for the settlement of investment disputes between investors and states. Whilst… Read more

In a decision dated 16 March 2018, the English Commercial Court (the "Court") dismissed the application of appeal under s69 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the "Act") by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company Limited ("DSME") on the ground… Read more

In Allianz Insurance and Sirius International Insurance Corporation v Tonicstar Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 434, the English Court of Appeal has reversed the decision of the High Court on whether a party-appointed arbitrator met the contractual requirements as to requisite… Read more

The ICC has recently published its preliminary 2017 statistics, showing a slightly lower case load than the record-breaking 2016, but still indicating a steady long term growth. A total of 810 new cases were filed in 2017, involving 2316 parties… Read more

In its recent judgment in Progas Energy Limited and ors v Pakistan [2018], the English High Court (the Court) granted Pakistan's request for security for their costs in defending a challenge to an investment treaty award. The Court declined Pakistan's… Read more