25/05/2018

Whether arbitration agreement in underlying contract extends to claims under bills of exchange

In Uttam Galva Steels Limited v Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd, Mr Justice Picken considered an application under s. 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 against a ruling of an LME arbitrator in relation to claims under 8 bills of exchange. The Court held that the objection to jurisdiction had been raised too late. In this regard, the Court considered the meaning of the words “exceeding the scope of its authority” in Regulation 10.3 of the LME Arbitration Regulations. The Court also went on to consider whether the arbitration agreements in the underlying contracts extended to disputes under related bills of exchange. Disagreeing with the reasoning of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Rals International Pte Ltd v Cassa di Risparmio di Parma e Piacenza SpA [2015] SGCA 53, the Court held that the original parties to the underlying contracts must have intended that any disputes between them under related bills of exchange also be resolved in arbitration.

Sudhanshu Swaroop QC acted for the Claimant.

David Lewis QC acted for the Defendant.