Minister of Finance Incorporated v 1Malaysia Development Berhad and Ors 2019 EWCA Civ 2080 - Judgment delivered by Sir Geoffrey Vos 26 November 2019
Country
Year
2019
Summary
This appeal raises an important legal issue as to the primacy of the powers of the court contained in sections 67 and 68 ("sections 67 and 68") of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the "1996 Act"). The judge, Mr Justice Knowles, used case management powers to stay the applications under sections 67 and 68 (the "court applications") made by the claimants, Minister of Finance (Incorporated) of Malaysia ("MoF") and 1Malaysia Development Berhad ("1MDB"). That case management order had the effect of allowing two arbitrations (the "second arbitrations") commenced subsequently by the defendants, International Petroleum Investment Company ("IPIC") and Aabar Investment PJS ("Aabar"), to proceed to decide factual issues relating to the circumstances in which a consent award (the "consent award") was entered into in a first and prior arbitration between the parties (the "first arbitration"). Those factual issues also arise in the court applications. The judge also refused to restrain the defendants under section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 ("section 37(1)") from continuing the second arbitrations....