The Commercial Court today (17 May 2022) handed down judgment in National Investment Bank Ltd. v Eland International (Thailand) Co. Ltd. [2022] EWHC 1168 (Comm) granting the Claimant’s application under s.72 of the Arbitration Act 1996 for a declaration that the arbitrator, Mr Simon Nesbitt QC of Maitland Chambers, who was appointed pursuant to an order of the Commercial Court in 2020 under s.18 of the Arbitration Act 1996, had no jurisdiction to determine the Defendants’ claim against the Claimant for over US$300 million.

Dominic Chambers QC acted for the successful Claimant, the leading investment bank in Ghana, instructed by Neil Sampson, Tom Spiller OBE and George Kestel of Rosenblatt. The judgment of Foxton J upheld the Claimant’s arguments about the interplay between ss. 18 and 72, and considered important matters of principle in relation to election by waiver and res judicata/issue estoppel in the arbitration context. Foxton J’s judgment may be found here.