Arbitration Law Monthly

The English courts will readily grant anti-suit relief to restrain a party to an arbitration clause specifying England as the seat from commencing or pursuing proceedings in the courts of another jurisdiction. A question which has been left unanswered since the passing of the Arbitration Act 1996 is whether the English courts will intervene where the seat of the arbitration is outside England. The matter gave rise to a conflict of views at first instance, but has now been resolved by the Supreme Court in UniCredit Bank GmbH v RusChemAlliance LLC [2024] UKSC 30; [2024] 2 Lloyd's Rep 466, in favour of intervention.

In Border Timbers Ltd and Another v Republic of Zimbabwe [2024] EWHC 58 (Comm); [2024] 1 Lloyd's Rep 427, Dias J had to determine whether an order enforcing an ICSID arbitration award could be set aside on the basis of sovereign immunity. In a detailed and closely reasoned judgment, Dias J held that the question of sovereign immunity was not engaged until the stage at which the court's order enforcing the award was served on the defendant state.