Arbitration Law Monthly
Enforcement of foreign awards: the public policy defence
By section 103(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996 the English courts can refuse to enforce a foreign award made in a New York Convention country if it is contrary to public policy. In Pencil Hill Ltd v US Citta di Palermo SpA, a decision of HHJ Bird in the Manchester Mercantile Court, 19 January 2016, the narrow meaning of public policy was emphasised. The court rejected a public policy defence based upon the assertion that the contract contained a penalty clause void under English law.
Pencil Hill: the facts