June 23, 2020

Supreme Court to tackle governing law of arbitration agreements in Enka v Chubb

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In an important case for English arbitration law, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal in July 2020 against the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Enka v Chubb [2020] EWCA Civ 574 regarding two key issues: (1) the correct approach as a matter of English law to determining the governing law of an arbitration agreement (particularly where the law of the main contract is different to the law of the seat of arbitration) and (2) the proper role of the court of the seat of arbitration in determining whether foreign proceedings give rise to a breach of an agreement to arbitrate. 

In this briefing, we summarise the decisions of the High Court and Court of Appeal, and highlight the issues that the Supreme Court will have to consider.  It is hoped that the Supreme Court will provide welcome clarity to an area of arbitral law that has, for some time, lacked certainty and consistency.

For the full case law update, please follow the link.