Enforcement of arbitration awards: jurisdictional defences

The decision of the Supreme Court in Kabab-Ji SAL (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2021] UKSC 48, upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal to refuse recognition and enforcement of an award made in Paris, is a crucial one on the interpretation of various elements of the Arbitration Act 1996 in its implementation of the New York Convention. The substantive issue was whether the jurisdictional question was to be determined by English or French law, but the Supreme Court made important observations on the manner in which jurisdictional challenges to enforcement are to be determined.

Kabab-Ji : the facts