Challenge to enforcement: issue estoppel

In Hulley Enterprises Ltd v The Russian Federation [2025] EWCA Civ 108 the Court of Appeal addressed the novel point of whether the principle of issue estoppel was available to preclude a foreign state from raising defences to the enforcement of an arbitration award dismissed by the curial courts. Where the defendant is a private person, issue estoppel is readily available, but the complicating factor where a foreign state is the defendant is that of sovereign immunity.

In short, does issue estoppel allow recognition and enforcement of a foreign award without independent consideration of whether sovereign immunity is available? In upholding the plea of issue estoppel, the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance decision of Cockerill J, [2023] 2 Lloyd's Rep 648.