Arbitration: jurisdiction

A question that frequently gives rise to a jurisdictional dispute is whether a settlement agreement silent on arbitration is nevertheless caught by the arbitration clause in the contract to which the settlement relates. Males J in Sonact Group Ltd v Premuda Spa (The Four Island) [2018] EWHC 3820 (Comm) adopted the usual approach that the arbitration clause is intended to apply to settlements.

Bya voyage charterparty contained in a fixture recap email, dated 27 June 2014, the defendant owner of the vessel Four Island chartered her to the claimant charterer for a voyage from Kavkaz to Novhodka with a cargo of fuel oil.