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21 January 2022 / Donny Surtani
Issue: 7963 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , ADR , Arbitration
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Arbitration: 2021 in review

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Reasons (for claimants) to be cheerful: Donny Surtani assesses the past year in international arbitration
  • The past 12 months have offered some positive developments for claimants in international arbitration cases, with key decisions providing greater certainty on governing law, enforcement and evasive debtors.

There have been some significant developments in (or relevant to) English law as it pertains to international arbitration in the past 12 months or so. In three key respects, the developments have been positive for claimants with strong claims that they wish to progress and monetise.

Greater certainty over governing law

Perhaps the most heralded decisions in English arbitration law in recent months were the Supreme Court’s rulings in Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v OOO Insurance Company Chubb [2020] UKSC 38, [2020] All ER (D) 36 (Oct), and Kabab-Ji SAL (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2021] UKSC 48, [2021] All ER (D) 89 (Oct).

Prior to these decisions, there had been some considerable uncertainty about how to ascertain the law governing an arbitration agreement when the parties had not expressly chosen one in their

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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