International Arbitration

The interplay between arbitration and winding up proceedings continues to attract judicial attention, with a recent decision from Singapore’s highest court affirming the prima facie test, meaning that a debtor need only show that there is a dispute subject to an arbitration agreement.

In this month’s Newsletter, Arbitrium features an update in relation to the legal impact of the coronavirus outbreak, bringing together posts from a range of law firms at the forefront of advising commercial parties, and a range of judgments dealing with set-aside applications from England, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Like last month, the aim of this post is to bring together a number of recent articles published by law firms at the forefront of advising commercial parties in dealing with the pandemic. It is my hope that an update next month will not be necessary.

英国法院可以强制证据
The English CA overturns the first instance court, holding that English Courts do have jurisdiction under s.44(2)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 to grant orders for taking evidence from non-party witnesses in aid of foreign arbitrations.

香港与中国之间执行仲裁裁决
Tanner De Witt, one of Arbitrium’s sponsors, outlines the operation of the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the HKSAR.

法院拒绝基于自然公正裁定裁决
The Singapore Court of Appeal declines to set aside an award on the grounds of breach of natural justice in proceedings arising out of the termination of a construction contract.

仲裁和清算程序
In the latest decision from the HK High Court to consider the interplay between arbitration and winding-up proceedings, Lavesh Kirpalani, Counsel at Prince’s Chambers, reviews the decision in Re Asia Master Logistics, where he appeared for the successful petitioner.

SICC拒绝就偏见作出裁决
The SICC dismisses an application to set aside an award, finding that the tribunal was justified in granting the cumulative relief that it did, and that there was no apparent bias on the part of an arbitrator who made a belated disclosure about being engaged as co-counsel with the defendant’s legal representative.

香港法院拒绝搁置公共政策
The HK Court dismisses an application to set aside an arbitral award, rejecting claims that the agreement was a sham and that enforcement of the award would be contrary to public policy. Edward Chin, Pupil Barrister, reviews the case.

将仲裁协议纳入提单
The HK Court denies an application for a stay of proceedings to arbitration in a case concerning bills of lading. Nick Luxton, Counsel, appeared for the successful Plaintiff, and provides a review of the decision.

国际仲裁与先例原则
The debate concerning the extent to which international arbitration poses a threat to precedent-based legal systems continues.

This month, Arbitrium features a post published in relation to the legal impact of the coronavirus outbreak, highlighting the key issues for businesses. Further, an interesting decision from the Malaysian High Court which considered the test for an application to subpoena a witness to produce documents for the purpose of an arbitration and give evidence in arbitration proceedings and a range of case notes from England in relation to ss. 67, 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act.