Reinsurance: jurisdiction

In Axis Corporate Capital UK II Ltd v Absa Group Ltd [2021] EWHC 861 (Comm) Nicholas Vineall QC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, was faced with applications by reinsurers for anti-suit injunctions against an insurer bringing claims against them in South Africa. There were several different layers of reinsurance, each subject to different and poorly drafted jurisdiction provisions. The questions for the court were the meanings of those provisions and whether to grant injunctive relief in circumstances where the provisions had different effects for different layers of the reinsurance.

Axis : the insurance and reinsurance structure