On 22 March 2024, the highest court of the Dubai International Financial Centre (‘DIFC’) rejected an appeal, ruling that a provisional award issued by a foreign seated tribunal providing for interim measures could be enforced as an ‘award’ in the DIFC. Former English High Court Judge, Justice Sir Jeremy Cooke, handed down the anonymized judgment on behalf of the DIFC Court of Appeal. The decision turned on the proper interpretation of the DIFC Arbitration Law which is based upon the UNCITRAL Model Law, but which does not include all of its provisions. Background In November 2022, a London-seat ..read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has promoted ten Disputes lawyers to its partnership out of a total of 27 worldwide. The promotions in the Disputes practice, which take effect on 1 May 2024, span across the firm’s international network. Of these new partners, three are arbitration specialists, reflecting the strength and importance of the practice area to the firm. The new arbitration partners are: Murphy Mok, Hong Kong An international arbitration lawyer, Murphy advises Chinese and international clients on cross-border disputes, particularly those related to construction, infrastructure, energy and s ..read more

In the recent case of Ganz v Petronz FZE and another [2024] EWHC 635 (Comm), the High Court upheld a tribunal’s decision to decline jurisdiction over a dispute, as the party challenging the award failed to prove the existence of an authentic and binding agreement to arbitrate. The claimant argued that the respondent had agreed to buy shares in a company under a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). The SPA provided for arbitration under the LCIA Rules. However, the arbitrator determined – in the context where a party to the SPA alleged its signature had been forged – that it had no jurisdiction on t ..read more

In the recent decision in H1 and another v W,D and F [2024] EWHC 382 (Comm), the English High Court granted an application under section 24(1)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the 1996 Act) to remove a sole arbitrator (the Arbitrator) on the grounds of apparent bias. The application primarily concerned comments made by the Arbitrator, who was an industry professional without previous experience sitting as an arbitrator, in relation to the parties’ witnesses and his approach to the expert evidence in the case. In upholding the challenge to the Arbitrator, the Court found that some of the Arbitra ..read more

In Carmichael Rail Network Pty Ltd v BBC Chartering Carriers GMBH & Co KG & Anor [2024] HCA 4, the High Court of Australia affirmed a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia to dismiss an application to restrain arbitration proceedings conducted in London relating to a dispute arising from a carrier contract. Background Carmichael contracted with OneSteel for the manufacture and supply of steel rails. It was agreed that the rails would be transported from OneSteel’s facility to the Port of Whyalla and loaded onto a vessel nominated by Carmichael. The rails were the ..read more

The European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR) has found that in delaying recognition of an arbitral award against it, the Republic of Albania breached its obligations under Article 6 (Right to a Fair Trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 6(1) states that proceedings must be determined “within a reasonable time”. Iliria SRL (Iliria) spent 17 years and 9 months attempting to obtain legal recognition of an arbitral award in the Albanian domestic courts. After various proceedings in the Tirana Court of Appeal, the Albanian Supreme Court and the Albanian Constitutional ..read more

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has refused to enforce an AAA-ICDR award because the arbitrator failed to give reasons for her decisions on key issues (A v. B and Others [2024] HKCFI 751). Mimmie Chan J found that the award simply recited the relevant contractual provisions (the interpretation and effect of which was disputed) and stated the orders made, without addressing the parties’ arguments or explaining the arbitrator’s reasoning.  These failings were sufficiently serious to have affected the structural integrity of the arbitral process and undermined due process, such that it ..read more

Global Arbitration Review (GAR) has unveiled its annual ranking of the world’s leading international arbitration practices, with Herbert Smith Freehills ranked fifth in the world. The firm’s GAR 30 ranking appears in the 17th Edition of the GAR 100, which was revealed last night at the annual GAR Awards ceremony at the Hôtel Du Collectionneur in Paris. The ranking reveals that the firm’s portfolio as counsel amassed US$101.3 billion, nearly double its portfolio value in 2018, and includes 5 cases with a claim value of over $5 billion and 11 cases with a claim value of between $1-5 billion. In ..read more

We are delighted to share with you Issue 17 of Inside Arbitration from Herbert Smith Freehills’ Global Arbitration Practice. In this issue, we delve into two critical topics facing many of our clients: the energy transition and digitalisation, and the growing overlap between the two as the world intensifies its efforts to develop innovative technologies to produce clean energy. We also explore global big-picture trends and highlight regional developments, taking a look at the investment of Korean companies in clean energy projects across the world, the new PRC Foreign State Immunity law and Ma ..read more

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed a challenge to an interim order granted by an arbitrator to restrain court proceedings in mainland China against non-parties to the underlying arbitration agreement (G v. N [2024] HKCFI 721). The decision turned upon the important distinction between arbitral awards which finally dispose of substantive issues (which can be challenged before the courts, albeit on limited grounds) and interim orders made pursuant to the procedural discretion of the arbitral tribunal (which the court generally cannot and will not interfere with). Background This ..read more