The New York Convention compels its 157 contracting Parties to enforce arbitration awards: “A New York Convention award may, by leave of the court, be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order of the court to the same effect”. This enforcement requirement, found in Section 101 of the Arbitration Act 1996, is however […]
New English-Speaking Commercial Court in Paris
On 1 March, a new appeals court in Paris opened its chamber doors. Similar to courts in other EU cities,[1] this commercial court resolves international commercial disputes using English and common law practices. It also hears appeals from the lower commercial court[2] involving foreign businesses or foreign law. It also expects to ultimately oversee arbitration award enforcement […]
The Seat of Arbitration in International Commercial Arbitration
The seat of arbitration (also known as the place or locale) is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when drafting international arbitration clauses in a contract and is often confused with the venue of the arbitration, which is not the same thing. The choice of the seat of arbitration can have […]
Enforcement of an ICSID Arbitration Award in the United Kingdom and EU Law
The enforcement of an ICSID investment arbitration award in the United Kingdom can be a complex matter, especially when doing so would arguably violate EU law. In January 2017, the UK High Court delivered a judgement to stay enforcement proceedings of the final ICSID award in the case of Ioan Micula and others v Romania, […]
Arbitration and World Wide Freezing Orders: U&M Mining Zambia v. Konkola Copper Mines, English High Court (2014)
U&M Mining Zambia Ltd v Konkola Copper Mines Plc [2014] EWHC 3250 (Comm) (10 October 2014) concerns the issuance of world wide freezing orders (“WFO”) against a losing party to an arbitration. By way of background, a dispute had arisen out of a contract entered into by the parties for the provision by U&M Mining […]