Resolution in Brief
Welcome to our ReSolution in Brief blog page, which hosts a collection of news, articles, and announcements relating to the latest information and rulings about Arbitration, Mediation, and private dispute resolution, both in the Asia-Pacific and New Zealand jurisdictions.
When can an arbitrator voluntarily resign and what are the implications for the arbitration?
By Maria Cole Circumstances can arise when an arbitrator in a domestic arbitration needs to voluntarily resign their appointment. But what is the status of the arbitration if this occurs? Does the court have jurisdiction to step in? This article looks at a recent...
The nuts and bolts of appealing an arbitral award when you need the Court’s leave
By Maria Cole What is involved when you want to appeal an arbitral award but need leave from the High Court to get a foot in the door? Two recent decisions out of Hong Kong and New Zealand look at different aspects of the application process. Any party to an...
Lifestyles of the rich and famous: polo clubs and (non) party parties
By Maria Cole and Michelle Rubaduka A company that acquired the Beverly Hills Polo Club trade mark was found by the English Court of Appeal to be bound by an arbitration clause in an agreement entered into by its predecessor owner of the trade mark.[1] The...
The importance of certainty in international arbitration agreements
By Sam Dorne The UK Supreme Court has once again looked at how to determine the law that applies to an international arbitration agreement in the case of Kabab-Ji SAL v Kout Food Group [2021] UKSC 48. An interesting set of facts led the Court to look at an...
Husky Food Importers & Distributors Ltd v JH Whittaker & Sons Ltd [2022] ONSC 1679
By Elliott Couper and Jack Davies New Zealand confectionary and chocolate manufacturer, JH Whittaker & Sons Ltd (Whittaker’s), has brought a successful motion to stay litigation commenced against it by Husky Food Importers & Distributors Ltd (Husky) in the...
All dressed up but nowhere to go: Recognition but no enforcement of ICSID awards
By Dr Anna Kirk and Belinda Green Foreign arbitral awards can be recognised and enforced in other countries by virtue of the provisions of the New York Convention. This is typically a quick and easy process. But two recent cases have been anything but. Why? Because...
Choice of NZIAC arbitration upheld by Ontario courts
A fan-favourite, Whittaker’s chocolate is the choice of many. But Whittaker’s could have missed out on its choice of dispute resolution process and jurisdiction when its former distribution agent in Canada sought to resolve a dispute in the Ontario courts rather than...
Sign of the times: enforcing an arbitration agreement exchanged by electronic counterparts
By Belinda Green In the electronic era, documents often do not exist in physical form. Does this affect their enforceability? Recent decisions from Australia and New Zealand show that our mindset about what an original or duly certified copy is might need to change...
Different dispute resolution clauses in related contracts. Which one prevails?
By Jo O’Dea If you have a number of related contracts between different parties and they have different dispute resolution clauses, which one do you use? SUMMARY In ZPMC- Red Box Energy Services Ltd vs Philip Jeffry Adkins and Others [2021] HKCFI 3501, there were 3...
Court thwarts bad faith attempt to lift veil of confidentiality of international arbitration award
By Maria Cole The confidentiality of arbitral proceedings is important. It is protected by statute and model law. In EBJ21 v EBO21,[1] the Federal Court of Australia refused to have its processes used to erode or undermine the parties’ agreement to, and the law’s...
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