Interim orders: preservation of assets

The decision of Andrew Baker J in Daelim Corporation v Bonita Co Ltd [2020] EWHC 697 (Comm) is best classified as a good example of an attempt to persuade the English court to go beyond what is permitted by section 44(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996 in terms of the use of powers to preserve assets pending an arbitration.

In the present case, the order sought effectively amounted to an anti-arbitration injunction in respect of a payment that was due either to the claimant or a third party, that question to be resolved in arbitration in Hong Kong.