Mr Justice Hacon finds that procedures for applying for permission to appeal are not altered by the COVID-19 Protocol. By Oliver E. Browne In Claydon v. Mzuri,[1] Mr Justice Hacon of the High Court has found that the COVID-19 Protocol does not alter the procedure for appeal applications if a decision is handed down remotely … Continue Reading
Decision confirms parties’ statutory right to challenge awards under s.67 and s.68. By Oliver E. Browne The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which granted a stay of an application challenging an award pending the determination of related further arbitrations (the Second Arbitration Proceedings), pursuant to s.67 and s.68 of the Arbitration … Continue Reading
Ruling confirms majority noteholder should not be disenfranchised from voting By Simon J. Baskerville, Sophie J. Lamb QC, Bradley J. Weyland, and Eleanor M. Scogings The English High Court held that it had jurisdiction in a cross-border dispute involving the Norske Skog group (Norske Skog), and confirmed that a majority noteholder did not “control” the … Continue Reading
New “range of factors” test suggests broad use in future civil matters and fairer, more nuanced outcomes. By Daniel Smith and Alanna Andrew The High Court has applied the new fact-sensitive “range of factors” test in Harb v Aziz[i] to determine whether a defendant to a civil claim can rely on the claimant’s wrongdoing to … Continue Reading
High Court decision provides practical lessons for companies conducting investigations. By Stuart Alford QC, Daniel Smith and Clare Nida The English High Court has reconfirmed that litigation privilege can apply to information gathering in internal investigations. Specifically, lawyers must have engaged in the information gathering for the dominant purpose of conducting litigation, and this can include … Continue Reading
By Daniel Harrison The High Court recently held that a party was not free to disclose an arbitral award even though that award had already entered the public domain. Notably, the ruling may have significant implications for parties considering whether or not to resolve disputes through arbitration. Background: UMS Holdings Limited v Great Station Properties … Continue Reading
By Oliver Browne and Robert Price On 6 June 2017, the High Court held that there was sufficient evidence that an award of over US$500 million in damages against the Republic of Kazakhstan may be tainted by fraud and that this should be examined at trial (Stati v Kazakhstan [2017] EWHC 1348 (Comm)). This bold, … Continue Reading
By Oliver Browne and Daniel Smith Following Three Rivers (No 5) [2003] EWCA Civ 474, the High Court has held that notes of interviews of employees, prepared as part of certain internal investigations by a bank’s solicitors, for the purpose of enabling the bank to seek and receive legal advice are not protected by legal … Continue Reading
By Robert Price A recent High Court decision provides a timely reminder that parties to an arbitration agreement must take care to ensure that arbitration proceedings are properly served to avoid an award being set aside or refused enforcement due to defective service. In Sino Channel Asia Ltd v Dana Shipping and Trading PTE Singapore … Continue Reading
By Daniel Harrison Appealing High Court decisions under the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) may be restricted following a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal. In Integral Petroleum SA v Melars Group Limited (2016 EWCA Civ 108), the Court of Appeal confirmed the High Court’s wide discretion in relation to the way in which … Continue Reading
By Jonathan Hew A recent High Court judgment has highlighted the importance of carefully drafting arbitration agreements and the difficulties of challenging arbitral awards on public policy grounds. In National Iranian Oil Company v Crescent Petroleum Company International Ltd & Anor [2016] EWHC 510 (Comm), Mr Justice Burton commented on the following aspects of arbitration … Continue Reading
By Daniel Harrison In circumstances where the parties have already chosen arbitration as a means of settling disputes, the English courts will give short shrift to arguments focused on practical difficulties in providing witness evidence or on a strong connection between the claim and another jurisdiction. The facts In Hanaro Shipping Co Ltd v Cofftea … Continue Reading
By Daniel Harrison The English High Court has again demonstrated its willingness to exercise supervisory jurisdiction in support of arbitration proceedings by granting an anti-suit injunction and a freezing order against a party which started foreign court proceedings despite an arbitration agreement. This judgment emphasises the English courts’ desire to uphold and protect arbitration agreements … Continue Reading
