Caribbean court discharges injunction in restraint of BIT arbitration (British Caribbean Bank Limited v A.G. of Belize)

Table of contents

• The background
• What was the effect of the BIT dispute resolution clause?
• Did the BIT confer an unqualified right to proceed to international arbitration?
• Was the Belize court right to grant the injunction restraining the arbitration proceedings?

Article summary

On appeal from the Court of Appeal of Belize, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) discharged an injunction, which had since 2010 prevented British Caribbean Bank Limited (BCB) from pursuing international arbitration proceedings against the Government of Belize under the UK-Belize Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The CCJ’s decision highlights that it is only in the rarest of cases that a court may grant an injunction to stop an international arbitration commenced validly under a BIT.