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27 October 2023
Issue: 8046 / Categories: Legal News , Arbitration
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NLJ this week: French or English? Arbitration anti-suit injunctions depend on your choice!

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A surge in decisions on anti-suit injunctions in the presence of an arbitration clause has caused the courts to grapple with the differences between the English and French legal systems

The reasons are that Paris is a popular choice for arbitration while English law is often chosen as the governing law, write Thomas Kendra, Emerson Holmes, and Emma Ball from Hogan Lovells, in this week’s NLJ.

Whether the anti-suit injunction is granted or not depends on whether a French or English style of interpretation is taken.

The authors write: ‘The deliberations of the English courts appear to be centring around two increasingly pronounced schools of thought: those who are in favour of granting anti-suit injunctions due to perceived similarities between the French and English legal systems and those who are against on the basis of perceived fundamental differences.’

Ball, Holmes and Kendra look at five recent cases in the English Commercial Court and Court of Appeal, as they discuss this evolving phenomenon in multi-jurisdiction arbitration cases. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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