Court refuses extension of time for AA 1996, s 68 challenge against PCA award (Allawi v Pakistan)

Article summary

Arbitration analysis: Mrs Justice Carr in the Commercial Court rejected an application for an extension of time to challenge an award made in an investment treaty arbitration seated in London and administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules 2010. The claim had failed in the arbitration and the state had been awarded costs. The claimant relied on an oral agreement, which he said had been made in a meeting in a London hotel with a minister in the state’s government who, he said, had categorically assured him that the award would not be enforced against him. His application for an extension of time to challenge the award was made after the state obtained an enforcement order almost a year after the publication of the award. The court found against the claimant on the facts and on reasonableness and also held the section...