WATCH: Arbitration Breakfast Briefing: STC v Betamax

The first of our 2021 Arbitration Breakfast Briefings will cover the public policy exception to the enforcement of arbitration awards – the Privy Council in STC v Betamax (to be heard on 20 January 2021).

We would like to invite you to join Stuart Isaacs QC, Alan Gourgey QC and Elizabeth Houghton in a discussion about the role which public policy plays in relation to the enforcement of arbitration awards.

The issue has been brought into sharp focus by the Mauritius Court of Appeal’s controversial decision in State Trading Corporation v Betamax. The case involved a SIAC arbitration in which the governing law was Mauritius law and the seat of the arbitration was in Mauritius. Stuart Isaacs QC acted for the claimant, whose claim succeeded in the arbitration but failed in the Court of Appeal. The case has been the subject of much debate in the international arbitration community and the Privy Council will hear an appeal from the Court of Appeal’s judgment on 20 and 21 January 2021.

The discussion will provide an opportunity to consider, in advance of the Privy Council hearing, some of the key issues surrounding the role of public policy which arise when enforcement of an arbitral award is sought.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email seminars@wilberforce.co.uk