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NLJ this week: Arbitral awards, state immunity & the need for express consent

30 May 2025
Issue: 8118 / Categories: Legal News , International , Jurisdiction , Commercial , Arbitration
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Do states need to give express consent to waive their immunity where an arbitral award is made against it? Yes, according to a recent case discussed in this week’s NLJ by Masood Ahmed, associate professor, University of Leicester, and Osman Mohammed, BA political science and international relations, University of Birmingham

Ahmed and Mohammed look at the intricacies involved in the recent decision of the Commercial Court in CC/Devas and others v The Republic of India. Here, the court was asked to determine whether a state waives its right to sovereign immunity and thereby submits to the adjudicative jurisdiction of the English courts because it has ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

Sir William Blair found in favour of India.

Ahmed and Mohammed write: ‘This decision is significant for the law and practice of international commercial arbitration. It illustrates some of the difficulties which may arise when a party is seeking to enforce an arbitral award against a state.’ 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
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