United Kingdom / 30 June 2005 / England and Wales, House of Lords / Lesotho Highlands Development Authority v. Impregilo SpA
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Court | England and Wales, House of Lords |
| Date | 30 June 2005 |
| Parties | Lesotho Highlands Development Authority v. Impregilo SpA |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | V | V(1) | V(1)(a) | V(1)(c) |
| Source |
[2005] UKHL 43; [2006] 1 AC 221 | online: UK Parliament |
| Languages | English |
| Summary | The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority ("the Authority") contracted with a consortium of companies from various countries to construct a dam in Lesotho. The contract, which was governed by Lesotho law, provided for arbitration under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, but did not specify a currency in which an award should be rendered. A payment-related dispute arose and was referred to arbitration in London. The tribunal's partial award, in favour of the consortium, was expressed in European currencies. The tribunal also awarded pre-award interest. The tribunal stated that both its currency choice and award of pre-award interest were permitted by specific provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 (U.K.) ("the Act"). The Authority challenged the award in England. The High Court upheld the challenge under section 68(2)(b) of the Act, which provides a ground to challenge an award on the basis of serious irregularity when the tribunal has exceeded its powers other than by exceeding its substantive jurisdiction. The Court held that the tribunal had exceeded its powers on both the currency choice and pre-award interest issues. Its judgment was affirmed by the Court of Appeal. The House of Lords reversed the Court of Appeal's judgment, finding that the tribunal had not exceeded its powers under section 68(2)(b) of the Act on either the currency choice or pre-award interest issues. It was noted that section 68(2)(b) of the Act was likely inspired by Article V(1)(c) NYC and that, since Article V(1)(c) should be narrowly interpreted so as not to re-examine the merits of an award, a similar approach should be taken under section 68(2)(b). |
Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
