Arbitration Notes

Australian courts provide safe harbour to arbitration agreements in bills of lading

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA AFFIRMS JURISDICTION TO ENFORCE ARBITRAL AWARDS AGAINST FOREIGN STATES PARTY TO THE NEW YORK CONVENTION

On 24 October 2023, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed India’s application to set aside an investor’s application to recognise and enforce an award …

THE ARBITRABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES IN AUSTRALIA

In Reeves v Alt Advisory (Jersey) Limited and Alt Financial Group Limited [2023] VSC 249 (Reeves), the Supreme Court of Victoria has enforced a private …

THE THIN RED LINE: AUSTRALIAN COURT REDLINES CONFIDENTIALITY OF ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS

The Harman confidentiality undertaking (or obligation of confidentiality of documents obtained pursuant to discovery, document production or subpoena) is …

ARBITRATION OF INSOLVENCY DISPUTES: THE VIEW FROM THE AUSTRALIAN COURTS

Two recent judgments from different Australian courts have considered circumstances in which insolvency disputes can (or cannot) be arbitrated in …

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL COURT REAFFIRMS HIGH THRESHOLD FOR REFUSING ENFORCEMENT OF AWARD ON PUBLIC POLICY GROUNDS

In a recent application to enforce an arbitral award, the Federal Court of Australia rejected the award debtor’s arguments that it would be contrary to …

NEW SOUTH WALES SUPREME COURT SETS ASIDE ARBITRATION AWARD TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE ARBITRATION PROCESS

INTRODUCTION AND TAKEAWAY In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of New South Wales set aside an arbitral award on the basis that the arbitrator had …

Arbitration, the creature which can be tamed: the Federal Court of Australia clarifies the interplay between a non-municipal legal system and the statutory regime for enforcement of arbitral awards

A drawcard for arbitration is its flexible nature, which makes it a suitable mechanism for resolving a wide range of bespoke disputes. This flexibility …

WESTERN AUSTRALIA SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS ‘REAL DANGER OF BIAS’ TEST FOR CHALLENGES TO ARBITRATORS

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has confirmed that the appropriate test for determining whether there were any ‘justifiable doubts’ as to the …

Not necessary to keep the lights on: court rejects application for urgent relief and gives green light to arbitration

In Power and Water Corporation v ENI Australia B.V [2022] WASC 376 the Supreme Court of Western Australia has provided clarification on the use of …

ARBITRATION ON THE RISE IN AUSTRALIA: ACICA REFLECTS ON A DECADE OF GROWTH

The Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) has released its report: ‘Reflections on the Last Decade of Activity at ACICA’, in …

THINK BEFORE YOU ACT - WA SUPREME COURT FINDS CONSENT BY CONDUCT TO ARBITRATION APPEAL

The Supreme Court of Western Australia recently decided a rare application to appeal arbitral awards pursuant to s 34A of the Commercial Arbitration Act …