Court of Appeal upholds anti-suit peremptory order under s42 of the Arbitration Act 1996

LLC EuroChem North-West-2 commenced Russian proceedings pursuant to Article 248 of the Russian Arbitration Procedural Code to restrain the English arbitration and pursue its arbitral claims before the Russian courts, following the English Court’s determination earlier this year that LLC EuroChem North-West-2 was controlled by Mr Melnichenko. Tecnimont S.p.A. and MT Russia LLC obtained peremptory orders from the arbitral tribunal to restrain LLC EuroChem North-West-2 and then successfully applied for assistance from the English court pursuant to s.42 of the Arbitration Act 1996.

LLC EuroChem North-West-2 appealed on the basis that the court had no power to enforce such orders under s.42 of the Arbitration Act 1996 because compliance with anti-suit relief ordered by a tribunal was not “necessary for the proper and expeditious conduct of the arbitration”. The Court of Appeal dismissed that appeal.

Alan Maclean KC and Tom Leary acted for the successful arbitration Claimants before Butcher J and before the Court of Appeal (and for Tecnimont S.p.A in the earlier Commercial Court proceedings).

The full judgment is available here.