Time limited obligation to seek to resolve a dispute by friendly discussions held to be enforceable

In Emirates Trading Agency LLC v Prime Mineral Exports Private Ltd [2014] EWHC 2104 (Comm) Teare J held that a dispute resolution clause in an existing and enforceable contract which required the parties to seek to resolve a dispute by friendly discussions in good faith and within a limited period of time before the dispute could be referred to arbitration was enforceable as a matter of English law. In his judgment the clause was neither incomplete, nor uncertain and, as such, was enforceable. In reaching his decision he followed Commonwealth authority rather than the more orthodox approach to be found in the English cases, according to which the clause would probably have been found to be unenforceable. To this extent, it is unclear whether the decision will be followed in subsequent cases.