Arbitration analysis: In a decision of 22 March 2023, the French Cour de cassation rejected a party’s appeal seeking to hold an arbitral institution liable for alleged procedural breaches, consisting in decisions made by the arbitral tribunal. The Cour de cassation highlighted the separation between the jurisdictional function of the arbitral tribunal on the one hand, and the organisational function of the arbitral institution on the other hand. Accordingly, the court clearly affirmed that there should be no attempt at conflating liability-incurring acts by arbitrators and liability-incurring acts by arbitral institutions. Written by Flore Poloni, partner & Kimberley Bazelais, associate at Signature Litigation.

Arbitration analysis: The Court of Appeal of Douai upholds a first instance ruling by the Commercial Court of Arras, declining jurisdiction in favour of arbitration, based on an arbitration clause. Even though the proceedings initiated by the claimant SCEA [D] et Fils (‘SCEA [D]’) raised a legal question as to the contractual existence of two prior unsigned agreements, upon which the respondent SAS Groupe Carré (‘Groupe Carré’) had relied to offset alleged indemnities against a subsequent contractual invoice, the Court held that the dispute pertained to the latter signed contract, such that the matter of the contractual existence was merely an argument related to the latter contract, and not the subject of the dispute. As that contract contained an arbitration agreement, the court held that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the dispute. Written by Adi Trivedi, associate, and Sara Nadeau-Seguin, partner, at Teynier Pic, in Paris.

The French government has published Decree No. 2026-741, amending the Code of Civil Procedure to modernise French arbitration law, covering both domestic and international arbitration. The reforms strengthen the role of arbitration centres and the support judge, facilitate the consolidation of related claims, require procedures to reflect the complexity and importance of disputes, and clarify arbitral tribunals’ powers. The decree defines an arbitral award, permits electronic awards subject to appropriate safeguards and qualified electronic signatures, allows tribunals to determine penalty payments they have imposed, and expands mechanisms for recognising and enforcing awards and provisional measures, subject to public policy safeguards. For domestic arbitration, appeals and applications to set aside awards will no longer automatically suspend enforcement, although enforcement may be suspended where it is likely seriously to prejudice a party’s rights. The decree also modifies when an appeal court that annuls an award may determine the underlying dispute.

Arbitration analysis: In a ruling of 12 August 2025, the President of the first-degree Judicial Court of Valenciennes (the Court) upheld jurisdiction over an application for urgent interim measures, despite the existence of an arbitration clause in the Lease agreement concluded between the parties. Referring to Article 1448 of the French code of civil procedure (FCCP), the Court recalled the negative effect of competence-competence, namely that French Courts must generally decline jurisdiction in the presence of an arbitration agreement, unless (i) the arbitral tribunal has not yet been constituted and (ii) the arbitration agreement is manifestly invalid or inapplicable. The Court also recalled that pursuant to Article 1449 of the FCCP, parties may seek conservatory or interim measures from French domestic Courts where (i) the arbitral tribunal has not been constituted and (ii) in case of emergency. In the present case, since the arbitration proceedings had not begun and SCI L’Armorial (the Claimant) had demonstrated that the interim measures sought were urgent, the Court upheld jurisdiction, even though the measures were eventually not ordered for reasons related to the merits. Written by Julie Spinelli, partner, Emma Ruby, associate, and Margot Van Dender, trainee, at Le 16 Law.

A cellular technology that has been used in the first-generation analogue systems (ie NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service), and TACS (Total Access Communications Systems)).

Radio transmission covering 88-108 megahertz on the broadcast band. FM is less susceptible to interference than AM broadcasting, and is also used in other frequency bands for two-way communications in land mobile and marine services.

Any formally recognised division of the radio spectrum defined in terms of a start and end frequency (or centre frequency and bandwidth).

The ability to use the same frequencies repeatedly across a cellular system. As each cell uses radio frequencies only within its boundaries, the same frequencies can be reused in other cells not far away with a limited possibility of interference. The reuse of frequencies is the key concept that enables a cellular system to handle a large amount of calls with a limited number of channels.

The Insurance Act 2015 (IA 2015) received Royal Assent on 12 February 2015 and, apart from Part 6 of the Act, came into force on 12 August 2016. It represents the most comprehensive update of the statutory framework of English law for insurance contracts since the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (MIA 1906). For a detailed analysis of the IA 2015, see Practice Note: Insurance Act 2015 (IA 2015)—essentials. Below we consider some frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the IA 2015. Question Answer Further reading/relevant cases or legislation What is the IA 2015 and when did it come into force? IA 2015 is the most significant reform of English insurance contract law since MIA 1906. It received Royal Assent on 12 February 2015 and, apart from Part 6, came into force on 12 August 2016. It reformed the law on fair presentation, remedies for non-disclosure and misrepresentation, warranties, fraudulent claims, contracting out, and third-party rights. The Enterprise Act 2016 (EA 2016) later added a right to claim damages for late

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) created a new restructuring tool in the form of a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (see Practice Note: Part 26A restructuring plans). Although it is largely based on the existing procedure for schemes of arrangement, there are some notable differences, including the introduction of cross-class cram down (CCCD) (see Checklist: Differences between restructuring plans, schemes of arrangement, and CVAs and Practice Note: Cross-Class Cram Down under a Part 26A restructuring plan). For a detailed analysis of key metrics from the RPs filed in 2024 (including details of when CCCD has been used) and commentary from leading lights in the restructuring world, see News Analysis: Market Insights Trend Report—trends in Part 26A restructuring plans in 2024. Below we consider some frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the restructuring plan. Question Answer Further reading/relevant cases or legislation Can restructuring plans be used for small to medium enterprises (SMEs)? Emphatically yes; see Re Houst which was the first time a

Law360, London: On March 23, Judge Nicholas Mostyn dismissed Fresh View Swift Properties Ltd'.s claim for judicial review of a £67,372 (US$84,300) forfeiture order in the High Court of England and Wales made by Judge Neeta Minhas at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Law360: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s proposed new assessment of pension schemes' value is so complex it risks failing savers, trade body the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has warned.