From investments in mining and infrastructure, to agricultural commodities and green energy, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region are increasing trade and commercial ties. As those ties grow, so does the potential for disputes, particularly in the current geopolitical context created by the war in Ukraine, price spikes, supply chain and other disruptions, and … Read more

By Leon Chung, Guillermo Garcia-Perrote and Samara Cassar The Supreme Court of New South Wales has recently confirmed that, in Australia, the relevant test for challenges to the independence or impartiality of arbitrators is the ‘real danger of bias’ test, rather than the lower threshold of the ‘reasonable apprehension of bias’ test applicable at common … Read more

By Leon Chung, Guillermo Garcia-Perrote and Samara Cassar A recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia sheds light on how to effectively seek a subpoena from a court in support of arbitration proceedings. Read more

In a recent post, we considered the careful and considered approach taken by Australian courts in striking the balance between a pro-enforcement stance and critical due process safeguards when enforcing foreign arbitral awards. In Beijing Jishi Venture Capital Fund (Limited Partnership) v Liu [2021] FCA 477, the Federal Court of Australia maintained this balance by declining to enforce an award against an award debtor who had not been served in accordance with the arbitration agreement or the chosen institutional rules, and therefore had not been given proper notice of the arbitration. Read more

In the recent case of EBJ21 v EB021 [2021] FCA 1406 award creditors sought recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award that had already been paid in time and in full. The award debtors resisted the application arguing that it was an improper attempt to circumvent the agreed upon confidentiality arrangement by bringing the dispute into the public arena of a court proceeding. The Federal Court of Australia agreed. Read more