Arbitration: service of arbitration proceedings

The question in Glencore Agriculture BV (Formerly Glencore Grain BV) v Conqueror Holdings Ltd (The Amity) [2017] EWHC 2893 (Comm) was whether service of arbitration proceedings by email upon the employee of the charterers who had been in email correspondence with the owners as to delay in loading constituted valid service.

Popplewell J held that where an email is addressed to an individual employee within an organisation, the question whether there was valid service on the organisation depended upon the rules of agency, namely the actual or ostensible authority of the recipient.