Topic: Public policy

A UK judge has raised serious concerns about the supervision of large arbitrations involving states after finding that an US$11 billion award against Nigeria was procured through false evidence, corrupt payments and improper retention of leaked documents.

23 October 2023

The Court of Appeal in London has affirmed that Volterra Fietta cannot recover any fees from a former client for work on a billion-dollar investment treaty arbitration after the law firm’s conditional fee agreement was found to be unenforceable.

04 October 2023

An English court has taken the “rare” step of refusing to enforce a foreign award on public policy grounds, finding that an award won by a US cryptocurrency company in a California-seated JAMS arbitration breached UK consumer law.

19 July 2023

A Chilean court has upheld a US$64 million award won by Chinese state-owned energy group Sinopec against Ecuador’s national oil company, finding it did not violate national public policy.

18 May 2023

The Indian government has failed to overturn an UNCITRAL award favouring Reliance Industries and its partners in a US$1.7 billion dispute over alleged migration of gas between adjacent blocks.

09 May 2023

A Paris court has upheld the enforcement of an ICC award favouring Bahrain in a €180 million dispute with a French construction company that is now in liquidation.

25 April 2023

A Canadian court has refused to enforce a US$90 million award rendered in Shenzhen against a golf club impresario and his wife after finding they were not given proper notice of the arbitration during the covid-19 pandemic.

14 April 2023

A court in the British Virgin Islands has refused to enforce compound interest awarded in an ICC dispute between two Thai businessmen after finding that it conflicts with Thai public policy.

20 March 2023

A German court has ruled that Deutsche Telekom can partially enforce a US$132 million investment treaty award against India over a cancelled satellite deal, finding the state lacked evidence to substantiate its fraud allegations.   

08 February 2023

The German courts can review the merits of arbitral awards relating to competition law, the country’s top court has ruled.  

16 January 2023