The Brussels Regulation (the piece of European legislation that
regulates jurisdiction, enforcement and the interaction between
courts in the EU) is perceived as undermining arbitration where the
arbitral seat is in the EU. In particular, it does not allow the
English courts to restrain proceedings commenced in breach of an
arbitration clause in another EU State.
The Regulation is currently under review and one of the objectives
is to resolve the problems it has caused for arbitration. In
September the European Parliament passed a resolution proposing
reform of the Brussels Regulation. Under the resolution, the
arbitration exception remains in place but is extended to court
proceedings concerning the validity or extent of arbitral
competence, whether raised as a principal issue or an incidental or
preliminary question. That should be sufficient to cover any court
proceedings commenced in breach of an arbitration agreement,
allowing a party to take action to restrain those proceedings. The
effect of the reform is to return to the position prior to the
judgment in the West Tankers case (click here for the Ashurst briefing on the case). The
legislative measures that the Commission will use to effect the
reform are set to be proposed in December this year. On that basis,
we should have a revised Brussels Regulation in 2011.
Please click on the links below for the other articles in
the October 2010 Arbflash:
Contact
Ronnie King
T: +44 (0)20 7859 1565
E: ronnie.king@ashurst.com
This publication is not intended to be a comprehensive review
of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all
aspects of those referred to. Readers should take legal advice
before applying the information contained in this publication to
specific issues or transactions.