England: A Look Back On A Year Of Authority And Hilarity

Abstract

The tenth anniversary of the coming into force of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA96) was celebrated on January 31, 2007. England started the second decade of its modern arbitration era with a year marked by authority and hilarity, an unusual combination in this field. Authority was provided by the House of Lords' firm endorsement of arbitration in Fiona Trust & Holding Corporation v Yuri Privalov and its reference to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in West Tankers on whether an anti-suit injunction related to arbitration proceedings is compatible with the EU Judgments Regulation. Hilarity came courtesy of that most unlikely source, The Law Society, in a brochure entitled England and Wales: The Jurisdiction of Choice in green, the color of envy. The internationalization of London arbitration practice is evident with the advent of litigation related to investment treaty cases for consideration by the English courts. Keywords: arbitration act; authority; England; English courts; European Court of Justice (ECJ); hilarity; House of Lords; London arbitration practice; The Law Society; West Tankers