From West Tankers to Gazprom: anti-suit injunctions, arbitral anti-suit orders and the Brussels I Recast

Abstract

The coming into force of the Brussels I Recast on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and the recent development in the Gazprom case appears to have ignited the debate on the position of anti-suit injunctions in the European judicial area. Although anti-suit injunctions have been prohibited by the CJEU in the Turner and West Tankers cases, it has been argued that anti-suit injunctions may be permissible in the context of arbitration under the new Brussels I Recast, the current EU instrument regulating the jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. It is therefore necessary to examine the position of anti-suit injunctions under the new legislative framework. This article will also examine the relationship between arbitral anti-suit orders and the Brussels I Regulation and its Recast.