Arbitration Law Monthly

Arbitrators, in the absence of express wording to the contrary, plainly have jurisdiction to award damages for breach of an arbitration clause. But what is the position if a court has given a judgment in favour of the defaulting party – does this in any way remove their jurisdiction? This important question was discussed by Mr Justice Burton in CMA CGM SA v Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co Ltd [2008] EWHC 2791 (Comm). The decision has become of pivotal importance in the light of the West Tankers ruling, discussed above.

The long-awaited decision of the European Court of Justice in Allianz SpA v West Tankers Inc, Case C-185/07 was handed down on 10 February 2009. Unsurprisingly, the ECJ affirmed the preliminary ruling of Advocate-General Kokott, delivered on 4 September 2008, and ruled that anti-suit injunctions may no longer be issued by the English courts to restrain proceedings brought in the courts of the member states of the European Union or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) where those proceedings are in contravention of an arbitration clause. The following paragraphs will analyse the decision and its implications, and explore whether other means may be used to prevent blatant disregard of arbitration obligations