(Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-536/13, Gazprom)

Eleonora Mateina

This article attempts to provide an overview of anti-suit injunctions and their functioning in the context of European law. First, it presents a brief overview of anti-suit injunctions in their country of origin – England. Second, the article provide a review of the ECJ’s practice regarding the application of anti-suit injunctions in the European Union and particularly – the West Tankers case (C-185/07) and the most recent case on this topic – the Gazprom case (C-536/13).

Anti-suit injunctions, mainly issued by English courts, and their admissibility under European Union law have discussed in several decisions of the Court of Justice . One of the most eminent decisions has been rendered in the West Tankers case. The article provides a detailed overview of the facts of the case, the conclusion of the Advocate General and the arguments of the Court. However, West Tankers decision concerns anti-suit injunctions issued by state courts of member-states. On the other side, the Gazprom case concerned injunctions issued by an arbitral tribunal.

The Gazprom case is particularly interesting, as it is a good illustration of the sometimes difficult relationship between international arbitration and EU law. The article provides a detailed presentation of the facts of the case, of Advocate general’s opinion and the court’s decision.

This article argues that arbitration is not yet regulated by EU law and thus, issues of refusal of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, should be addressed applying the respective national legislation or international acts, such as the New York Convention.

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Линк към статията на български език: ANTI-SUITINJUNCTIONS И ПРАВОТО НА ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЯ СЪЮЗ СЛЕД ДЕЛОТО ГАЗПРОМ – ДЕБАТЪТ ПРОДЪЛЖАВА

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