REUTERS | Maxim Shemetov
October 25, 2019

Federal Government of Nigeria granted stay of enforcement and leave to appeal in key arbitration case

Quantum of suffering

The English High Court recently provided the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) some respite in its ongoing dispute with the British Virgin Islands company, Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) by granting FGN leave to appeal and a stay on enforcement of the arbitral award made against it in January 2017. Having seen the arbitral award converted to an English High Court judgment in August 2019, P&ID had set about attempting to enforce the judgment against FGN’s foreign assets. This was no small matter for FGN, as the amount of the arbitral award (initially US $6.6 billion, now US $9.6 billion, given the eye-watering interest of US $1.3 million per day) would have a significant impact on Nigerian reserves and the Nigerian economy in general. US $9.6 billion represents around 20% of FGN’s total foreign reserves, one third of FGN’s 2019 fiscal budget, 2.5% of its total GDP and more than 50% of its earnings from crude oil in 2018. FGN unsuccessfully contested the award in August 2019 on several grounds, including that the award was “manifestly excessive” and, therefore, contrary to public policy. But a question that many readers will be wondering is: how did we even get here? Continue reading →

REUTERS | Danish Siddiqui
October 17, 2019

The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2019: improving institutional arbitration in India

With thanks to Varnika Chawla, trainee solicitor (India Qualified) in the International Arbitration and Construction Disputes Group at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP for co-authoring this blog.

On 9 August 2019, the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2019 was published. This will come into force as and when the central government notifies by way of Official Gazette. The Act amends the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 and is the latest in a series of steps designed to make India a more arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Joshua Roberts
October 10, 2019

ICSID publishes new working paper and aims to finalise rule amendments

On 16 August 2019, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published its third working paper on its proposed amendments to the ICSID Arbitration Rules. ICSID intends to submit the revised rules to member states for consultation in November 2019 and to approve the final text of the rules next year. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ints Kalnins
October 4, 2019

Disclosure of third party interests: the SCC and beyond

On 11 September 2019, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) adopted a policy encouraging the disclosure of the identity of “any third party with a significant interest in the outcome” of an SCC arbitration. This new policy is effective. Such disclosure will likely initially be contained within the parties’ first written submissions, although parties are also encouraged to disclose where any third party acquires a significant interest in the outcome of the dispute during the course of the arbitration. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Juan Carlos Ulate
October 3, 2019

ADGM and EMAC on course for co-operation

Earlier last month, the ADGM Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC) and the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC) signed a co-operation agreement (see Cooperation Agreement between the Abu Dhabi Global Market Arbitration Centre and Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre, dated 8 September 2019) in an ambitious move to unite forces in the development and promotion of international commercial and maritime arbitration and mediation across the Middle East. Behind this ambition lies the idea that the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the home jurisdiction of the EMAC, serve both as attractive free zone seats and venues in their own right. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Faisal Mahmood
September 26, 2019

Arbitral awards: is the reasoning good enough?

Judgment was recently handed down in Islamic Republic of Pakistan and another v Broadsheet LLC. In this case, Moulder J considered two competing and irreconcilable lines of authority in respect of whether failure of reasoning can ground a challenge against an arbitral award pursuant to section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996). The decision both confirms that there is no scope for a section 68 challenge based on inadequate reasoning and cautions against conflating the concepts of “substantive injustice” based on “failure of reasoning” as between court proceedings and arbitral proceedings. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Leonhard Foeger
September 23, 2019

Exemplary damage limitation? Award for potentially punitive damages upheld despite public policy concerns

Under English law, it has long been held that “exemplary damages ought not to be, and are not according to any true principle of law, recoverable” for claims in breach of contract. The injured party in a contractual claim is entitled to “adequate compensation in money for the loss of that which he would have received had his contract been kept, and no more” (Addis v Gramophone Company Ltd). Continue reading →