Jurisdiction: binding effect of partial award

In Emirates Trading Agency LLC v Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Private Ltd [2015] EWHC 1452 (Comm) the High Court has once again been required to consider the effects of a pre-requisite to arbitration whereby the parties are required to undertake “friendly discussion” in order to resolve their dispute. In the present case the validity or otherwise of the clause, and indeed whether it had been satisfied, ultimately did not need to be decided. The question became whether the failure of a party to appeal against a partial award holding that the clause did not bar arbitration barred an appeal against a later final award where the arbitrators refused to revisit their earlier view.

Emirates Trading : the facts