Case C-536/13 Gazprom

In this eagerly anticipated decision on anti-suit injunctions in the field of arbitration, the CJEU held that the Brussels I Regulation neither precludes nor requires a Member State to recognise and enforce arbitral awards granting such injunctions. The decision is the latest in a series of CJEU decisions considering the interrelationship between EU law on civil jurisdiction and judgments and arbitration.

Adopting submissions by the United Kingdom (among others) Gazprom confirms that the Turner/West Tankers line of cases (prohibiting anti-suit injunctions) is confined in its application to proceedings before Member State Courts and of no application to arbitral awards or decisions by Member State courts to recognise and enforce such awards. The decision in Gazprom will have important implications for international arbitration practice, in particular in London-seated arbitrations where anti-suit relief is frequently sought and granted.

The full judgment can be read by clicking here: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2015/C53613.html

Brian Kennelly and Andrew Scott represented the UK, appointed by the Government Legal Department.