On 4 September 2008, Attorney General Kokott of the European Court of Justice issued her much awaited opinion on the Allianz SpA (formerly Riunione Adriatica Di Sicurta SpA) and Others v West Tankers Inc. case. The opinion deals a blow to anti-suit injunctions to restrain court proceedings in the EU in breach of the arbitration agreement. This means that arbitral tribunals and the supervisory court do not have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the validity of arbitration agreements.
MET partner Richard Black expressed his view in Lloyd's List, on 8 September 2008, that if the opinion was adopted by the ECJ, it would not be welcomed by the arbitration community or the English legal profession. Richard added: "The opinion takes the view that arbitrators do not have the exclusive right to determine the validity of the arbitration clause and it is open to courts in member states, other than the supervising court, to do so. This is a surprising result and it flouts the New York Convention. If the ECJ were to adopt the opinion, it will lead to tactical applications in member states and result in substantial delays in resolving arbitration disputes. The attraction of London as a major arbitral centre will suffer."
For a full analysis of the Attorney General's opinion please see the briefing note on our website: http://www.blg.co.uk//pdf/6350444.pdf
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