Freezing injunctions

ETI Euro Telecom International NV v Republic of Bolivia [2008] EWCA Civ 89, a lengthy decision of the Court of Appeal handed down in an emergency application, discusses the jurisdiction of the English court to grant interim relief, in the form of a freezing injunction, in support of a foreign arbitration. The leading judgment was given by Lawrence Collins LJ, the acknowledged master of all conflict of laws issues.

ETI: the facts

In 1995 ETI, a Netherlands company, entered into an agreement with the Republic of Bolivia and Entel (the Bolivian communications company) under which Entel was privatised and ETI became 50% owner of it. ETI paid some US$600m and subsequently invested substantial sums in ETI. By 2007, ETI’s stake had been independently valued at somewhere between US$294m and US$325m.