The case involved how the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (the “
Court”) approached an attempt to resist enforcement of an arbitral award obtained in Mainland China on the basis of the award debtor’s claim of forgery of the underlying agreement.
Laws on enforcement of Mainland awards in Hong Kong
Given that Hong Kong is part of the PRC, strictly speaking the New York Convention does not apply to assist in cross-border enforcement of arbitration awards. To solve this, Hong Kong and Mainland China put in place an arrangement to facilitate mutual cross-border enforcement. The Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between Mainland China and the HKSAR has been implemented since 1 February 2000 through sections 92 to 98 of the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609). (There have been some recent enhancements to this arrangement, details of which can be found here.)
Nigeria: Crude Oil Remittance - Court Upholds $1.7bn Arbitral Award in Favour of NPDC allafrica.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from allafrica.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Onozure Dania
The Federal High Court in Lagos has upheld a landmark $1.7billion arbitral award in favour of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. (NPDC) Ltd against the Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nig. Ltd and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd.
Justice A. Faji dismissed Atlantic Energy’s application to set aside the Arbitral Award of March 5, 2020.
He upheld the submissions of NPDC lead counsel Prof Fabian Ajogwu SAN and granted orders recognising the $1.7bn Arbitral Award as well as for leave to enforce same as a judgment of the Federal High Court.
The landmark decision upholds one of the single largest Awards ever in a Nigerian Arbitration. Sometime in August 2015, Atlantic Energy, through its lawyer, T. Fagbohunlu SAN, took the NNPC to arbitration for alleged breach of contract.