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Reappreciating the Composite Approach with Anupam Mittal v Westbridge II
Written by: Aditya Singh, BA.LL.B. (Hons) student at the National Law School of India University(NLSIU), Bengaluru and line editor at the National Law School Business Law Review (NLSBLR)
I. INTRODUCTION
The debate surrounding the composite approach i.e., the approach of accommodating the application of both the law applicable to the substantive contract and the Lex Fori to the arbitration clause has recently resurfaced with Anupam Mittal v Westbridge Ventures II (“Westbridge”). In this case, the Singapore Court of Appeal paved way for application of both the law governing substantive contract and the Lex Fori to determine the arbitrability of the concerned oppression and mismanagement dispute. The same was based on principle of comity, past precedents and s 11 of the International Arbitration Act. The text of s 11 (governing arbitrability) does not specify and hence limit the law determining public policy to Lex Fori. In any event, the composite approach regardless of any provision, majorly stems from basic contractual interpretation that extends the law governing substantive contract to the arbitration clause unless the presumption is rebuttable. For instance, in the instant case, the dispute would have been rendered in-arbitrable with the application of Indian law (law governing substantive contract) and hence the Singapore law was inferred to be the implied choice.[1] Read more
Measure twice, cut once: Dutch case Presta v VLEP on choice of law in employment contracts
Presta v VLEP (23 june 2023) illustrates the application of the CEJU’s Gruber Logistics (Case C-152/20, 15 July 2021) by the Dutch Supreme Court. In order to determine the law applicable to an individual employment contract under article 8 Rome I, one must compare the level of protection that would have existed in the absence of a choice of law (in this case, Dutch law) with the level of protection offered by the law chosen by the parties in the contract (in this case, the laws of Luxembourg), thereafter, the law of the country offering the highest level of employee protection should be applied.
U.S. Supreme Court Renders Personal Jurisdiction Decision
This post is by Maggie Gardner, a professor of law at Cornell Law School. It is cross-posted at Transnational Litigation Blog.
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday upheld the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s corporate registration statute, even though it requires out-of-state corporations registering to do business within the state to consent to all-purpose (general) personal jurisdiction. The result in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. re-opens the door to suing foreign companies in U.S. courts over disputes that arise in other countries. It may also have significant repercussions for personal jurisdiction doctrine more broadly. Read more
News
The Elgar Companion to UNIDROIT: Virtual Book launch
Co-edited by Ben Köhler, Rishi Gulati and Thomas John, the Elgar Companion to UNCITRAL is now out. This is the third and final in the trilogy of books on the three key international institutions mandated to work on private international and international private law. The Elgar Companions to the HCCH and to UNCITRAL have already been published in 2020 and 2023 respectively.
The Elgar Companion to UNIDROIT brings together a diverse selection of contributors from a variety of legal backgrounds to present the past, present and future prospects of UNIDROIT’s instruments (for more information: link).
The book will be virtually launched by the President of UNIDROIT, Professor Dr. Maria Chiara Malaguti, on 17 January 2025 at 13:00 CET. The launch event will also include a presentation by Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Herbert Kronke, who will speak on the topic of “UNIDROIT and the EU”. The event will be held via zoom.
To register, please send an email to ben.koehler@uni-bayreuth.de
Netherlands Commercial Court updates its rules of procedure
The Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC) has recently updated its rules of procedure. The updated version has come into force on January 1, 2025.
Open Online Conference on International Recovery of Maintenance on the basis of authentic Instruments on January 29th, 2025 3–5pm CET
The Child Support forum is pleased to invite every interested stakeholder to a new open meeting on the issue of “International Maintenance Recovery on the Basis of Authentic Instruments”.
The payment of child maintenance is not always ordered by a court. Maintenance debtors may commit themselves to make these payments in an enforceable deed, also called “authentic instrument”. The enforceable deeds are usually established by public notaries or public authorities. They should not be confused with administrative orders, as they are based on a voluntary declaration by the maintenance debtor. In case of non-payment, enforcement can be carried out in the State of origin, in the same way as a court decision.
Regarding cross-border cases, the recognition and enforcement of child maintenance claims on the basis of authentic instruments is mentioned in certain provisions. However, the lack of international awareness as regards their nature leads to difficulties when it comes to their implementation. The meeting aims to provide information on these two topics and to allow an exchange between the stakeholders involved on both levels, the establishment and the enforcement of authentic instruments.
To register, click here.