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17 July 2009
Issue: 7378 / Categories: Case law , Law reports
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Arbitration—Jurisdiction—Insolvency

Syska (acting as the administrator of Elektrim SA (in bankruptcy)) and another v Vivendi Universal SA and others [2009] EWCA Civ 677, [2009] All ER (D) 88 (Jul)

Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Mummery, Longmore and Patten LJJ 9 Jul 2009

Where an arbitration is proceeding in one member state and one of the parties to the reference becomes insolvent in another member state, the consequences of that insolvency, in so far as they affect the arbitration, are to be determined by the law of the member state in which the reference is taking place.

Gabriel Moss QC, Richard Millett QC and Julian Kenny (instructed by Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP) for the claimants. Toby Landau QC and Ricky Diwan (instructed by O’Melveny & Myers LLP) for the defendants.

The second claimant was a Polish company. In September 2001, it entered into an agreement with the defendants, which contained a London arbitration clause. The arbitration agreement was governed by English law, although the rest of the agreement was governed by Polish law. Disputes arose and in August 2003

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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