In January 2022, the Arbitration Centre at the RSPP has completed arbitration on a dispute arising out of a contract of international sales of goods concluded between the Russian company (supplier) and the British counterparty (buyer), governed by English law. The arbitral tribunal ruled against the buyer and recovered the price of the delivered and unpaid goods. 

Since the respondent declined to execute the arbitral award on a voluntary basis, the claimant applied to the High Court of England and Wales for its recognition and enforcement. By the court order of 25 April 2022, the arbitral award was recognized as complying with the requirements of the New York Convention of 1958, as well as section 101 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and permitted to be enforced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the same manner as the judgment of the High Court. This judicial act entered into force and has recently been received by the Arbitration Centre.

According to Veronika Salnikova, a partner of Yakovlev and Partners Legal Group, whose lawyers represented the claimant during the arbitration and enforcement stages, the arbitral proceedings met leading international standards and practices, and were conducted in accordance with applicable legislation and arbitration rules, that was subsequently confirmed by the order of the High Court.

Ms. Salnikova also noted that arbitration currently has no real alternative in resolving cross-border contractual disputes. However, due to the complex international situation, foreign arbitration institutions are not always able to provide equal conditions for both Russian participants and foreign opponents (this concerns fees payments, hiring representatives from the relevant jurisdiction, possibility of participating in the hearing, etc.). “We and our client are satisfied with the promptness of the proceedings, the quality and reasonableness of the award, as well as the efficiency of the staff. Furthermore, I wish to point out the reasonable arbitration fees, which are expressed in Russian rubles, and significantly lower than in other Russian and foreign arbitration institutions”, she added.

Alexander Grebelsky, the Chairman of the International Disputes Panel of the Arbitration Centre at the RSPP, commenting on the order of the High Court of England and Wales, noted that along with domestic disputes, an increasing number of companies trust the Arbitration Centre at the RSPP to consider disputes through international commercial arbitration. “This is facilitated by the convenient arbitration procedure, professional administration, as well as the traditional advantages of arbitration, including confidentiality and cross-border enforcement mechanism for arbitral awards. As the geography of disputes considered by the arbitrators of the Centre expands, we plan to report on the outcome of the execution of arbitral awards in other jurisdictions. We expect the completion of such a process in the People's Republic of China in the near future”, he concluded. 

The order of the High Court of England and Wales is available at the link.