Australian court refuses enforcement against non-party to arbitration
The Victorian Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by IMC Aviation Solutions Pty Ltd (formerly IMC Mining Solutions Pty Ltd) (IMC), and refused the enforcement of an arbitral award made against IMC on the ground that IMC was not a party to the arbitration agreement. Adopting the approach of the UK Supreme Court last year in Dallah Real Estate & Tourism Holding Co v Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan [2010] UKSC 46, it held that an enforcement court can revisit jurisdiction in full, even when the arbitral tribunal or the courts of the seat of arbitration had already determined the issue. Please read our briefing.
Jivraj v Hashwani [2011] UKSC 40
The UK Supreme Court has overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal and unanimously ruled that arbitrators are not employees and so discrimination law does not apply to arbitrators. The Court of Appeal decision last year had raised concerns about the validity of many standard arbitration clauses providing for a nationality requirement, including those in existing contracts. The Supreme Court decision lays those concerns to rest and has been widely welcomed by the arbitration community in England and abroad. Please read our briefing and watch our webcast.
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