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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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson—Vicky Tomlinson

Browne Jacobson appoints Vicky Tomlinson as Head of Independent Health and Care

DWF—five appointments

DWF—five appointments

DWF further strengthens major injury and casualty offering with new partner and four directors from DAC Beachcroft

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis—Laura Ornsby

Switalskis strengthens Grimsby child care team

NEWS
The Financial Reporting Council’s revised Audit Enforcement Procedure will alter the balance of power in corporate investigations
A telecoms operator may be able to hold over under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, yet still be unable to secure a renewal: an outcome described as a legal ‘paradox’

Safety fears do not automatically justify shutting an interested person out of a statutory will application

Consumer credit law is heading for its biggest shake-up in 50 years, with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 set to yield much of its detailed statutory machinery to FCA rules
The Supreme Court has settled a long-running dispute over part-time workers: unfavourable treatment need be a significant or effective cause, not the sole cause
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