Last month saw the end of the second round of the UK Law Commission’s consultation on reform of the Arbitration Act 1996, the legislation which provides the framework for arbitration in England and Wales. We have reported on the current status of the consultation and are watching for the final recommendations.
Banks as Gatekeepers Against Fraud: Customer Protection and the So-Called Quincecare Duty in the UK
Who can be held responsible when a rogue actor directs payment from a company’s bank account? Unless discovered quickly, stolen funds are usually quickly spirited away from easy recovery. Victims of fraud therefore look for other sources of compensation, including the bank itself who executed the instruction. In England, when banks and financial institutions have reasonable grounds to believe that a payment instruction is an attempt to misappropriate a customer’s funds, they owe a duty of care to that customer to refrain from making or executing the order and make necessary inquiries before proceeding.
A New Gateway Opens – More English Court Options for Victims of Overseas Fraud
Recent rule changes allow claimants full access to key English law mechanisms to discover the identity of defendants and location of assets, even where the wrongdoers and third parties are not based in England. This is highly relevant for victims of cyber-crime and crypto frauds.
SORT IT OUT! The English Courts Take a Step Towards Mandatory Mediation
Mediation is globally recognized as an effective dispute resolution mechanism. A trained mediator can assist apparently diametrically opposed parties in finding a resolution that avoids the time and costs of court proceedings, especially fully contested and lengthy final hearings. Over 50 countries have signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the Singapore Convention) under which settlement agreements resulting from a mediation process can be recognized and enforced internationally without the need to bring a court claim for breach of the settlement agreement.
UK Contract? Today is the Day to Review Your Dispute Resolution Provisions
Whether you are a regular user of arbitration, a default user of your local courts or pick and choose a forum depending on the deal, it always pays to take a cold look at those choices. Do they still work for you? Will they work in the future when a dispute arises? Have you taken into account developments in law and current best practice?
Today is the day to review your dispute resolution (DR) provisions. Why? We give you 5 good reasons.
UK Arbitration H1 2020: 6 Months and 6 Key Messages from the English Courts, Part 2
With an uptick in commercial wrangles expected as a result of measures taken to combat Covid-19, England is not alone in seeking to provide a welcoming jurisdiction to deal with such disputes.
We identified 6 key developments in arbitration case law in England from the last 6 months. In Part 1 of the two-part post, we explained how:
1. The English Court will determine the applicable law to an arbitration agreement and hold parties to their bargain by enforcing such arbitration agreements …
2. …But only where clearly drafted. The Courts will not save a party from competing clauses.
3. The English Court limits when a non-party can rely on arbitration agreements.
UK Arbitration H1 2020: 6 Months and 6 Key Messages from the English Courts, Part 1
With an uptick in commercial wrangles expected as a result of measures taken to combat Covid-19, England is not alone in seeking to provide a welcoming jurisdiction to deal with such disputes.
In this two-part post, we pick out 6 key developments in arbitration case law in England over the last 6 months to reveal the takeaways for parties considering their dispute resolution options, whether at the contracting stage or with a potential claim in mind.