Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd 2022 EWHC 3287 Comm - 20 December 2022
Country
Year
2022
Summary
The Claimant ("Dassault") makes this application under s.67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 ("AA 1996") to set aside a Partial Award dated 29 March 2022 made by an arbitral tribunal consisting of Lord Collins of Mapesbury, Simon Crookenden KC, and Joe Smouha KC (the "Tribunal"). That Partial Award declared by a majority that it had jurisdiction over the claim of the Respondent ("MSI") against Dassault.
The issue as to jurisdiction engages part of the question asked by Professor Goode as to the limits of contractual prohibitions against assignment in his article "Contractual Prohibitions Against Assignment" [2009] LMCLQ 300 in which he stated:
- "What is the scope of a no-assignment clause? Does it prohibit equitable as well as statutory assignments? Does it extend to declarations of trust and to equitable charges? Does it embrace the sum received by the assignor from the debtor? These are all questions of construction of the contract."
The majority of the Tribunal concluded (broadly with Professor Goode) that a no-assignment clause is limited to contractual assignments and does not encompass a transfer to an insurer by operation of Japanese Law. The minority took the view that the transfer in this case fell within the clause because the operation of Japanese law was brought about by voluntary acts of the assured.
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