Jan 25, 2023 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
Jul 25, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
Jul 12, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
Jul 12, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
Jul 6, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
Jun 28, 2022 | Arbitration, Enforcement of award, International Disputes, NZIAC
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...
May 2, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
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...
Mar 18, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
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...
Mar 18, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
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...
Mar 18, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
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...
Jan 28, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
Transparency International has just released the 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and New Zealand has retained its joint number one ranking along with Denmark, as having one of the least corrupt public sectors in the world. This year Finland joins the top-slot...
Jan 28, 2022 | Arbitration, International Disputes, NZIAC, Private dispute resolution
Can deliberate or wilful contract breaches still benefit from clauses that limit or exclude liability? The English High Court recently considered this issue in Mott Macdonald Ltd v Trant Engineering Ltd,[1] which confirmed that clauses limiting or excluding liability...