Aug 2020
The BVI Commercial Court has ruled that an ICC arbitral award of over US$646 million was enforceable in the BVI, notwithstanding two defences raised by the party against whom enforcement was being sought.
The defendant argued that the composition of the arbitral tribunal was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties and that two of the five arbitrators lacked independence and impartiality.
The court rejected both defences. In respect of the composition of the arbitral tribunal, the court ruled that the ICC was correct in appointing all five arbitrators given that the arbitration clause in question was in breach of the French law principle of égalité (equality) between the parties in the appointment of arbitrators.
This update was originally published on Practical Law Arbitration and is reproduced with the permission of Thomson Reuters.