Breach of obligation to arbitrate: error of law and extension of time

The French State v The London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Ltd [2023] EWHC 2474 (Comm); [2024] 1 Lloyd's Rep 157 is another decision in a lengthy sequence arising from the pollution damage caused by the grounding of the vessel Prestige off the Spanish and French coasts in 2002.

The issues raised by the dispute between France and the defendant Club were somewhat different from those posed by the dispute between Spain and the Club, previously discussed in Arbitration Law Monthly, although issues raised in respect of remedies available to the Club for breach of the arbitration provisions by France were much the same as those in the Spain case.