Robert Wisner

The applicant sought recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award from the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration against the respondents, totaling over $120 million.

The respondents opposed on grounds of improper notice and inability to present their defense, and also moved to admit fresh evidence regarding a related U.S. enforcement proceeding.

The court dismissed the fresh evidence motion, finding it not sufficiently probative.

On the main application, the court found that the respondents did not receive proper notice of the arbitration proceedings and were unable to present their case, despite prior Chinese court decisions deeming service sufficient.

Consequently, the application for recognition and enforcement of the foreign arbitral award was dismissed.

The applicant sought to challenge an arbitral award, arguing the arbitrator exceeded his jurisdiction by misapplying French law to read a diligent management requirement into an Earn-Out Clause, despite an Entire Agreement Clause.

The applicant also alleged a denial of natural justice due to the arbitrator's refusal to allow a sur-sur-reply.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the challenge, finding the arbitrator's interpretation was an unreviewable issue of mixed fact and law, not a true jurisdictional error.

The court also held the arbitrator's procedural ruling was a reasonable exercise of discretion that did not deny the applicant a fair hearing.

The respondent's parallel application to recognize the award was granted.

This costs endorsement follows the dismissal of applications by Belokon, Entes, Sistem, and Stans (the "Applicants") to recognize and enforce arbitral awards against the Kyrgyz Republic (the "Republic"), and to declare an exigible ownership interest of the Republic in Centerra Gold Inc. shares held by Kyrgyzaltyn JSC.

The Republic and Kyrgyzaltyn (the "Respondents") sought costs.

The court awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis, rejecting claims for full or substantial indemnity.

It also determined that costs should be payable on a several, not joint and several, basis due to the unrelated nature of the Applicants and the court-directed common issue hearing.

The court limited the costs award to the common issue hearing, excluding prior jurisdiction motions or general recognition application costs, and considered previous compensation for materials.

The applicants sought a declaration that the Kyrgyz Republic held an exigible ownership interest in shares of Centerra Gold Inc. registered in the name of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, to enforce arbitral awards.

The court dismissed the applications, finding that the Agreement on New Terms (ANT) unambiguously established Kyrgyzaltyn JSC as the beneficial owner of the shares, not the Republic.

The court rejected arguments based on contract interpretation under New York law and trust principles under Canadian law, emphasizing the separate legal personality of the subsidiary and the lack of evidence for an ownership interest or trust.

The applicant sought recognition and enforcement of portions of an international arbitral award under the International Commercial Arbitration Act and the UNCITRAL Model Law.

The respondent argued that the arbitral tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by awarding attorney’s fees and arbitration costs because the arbitration clause required each party to bear its own costs except in the specific context of an early termination charge.

The court held that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to award general attorney’s fees and costs after rejecting the contractual early termination provision that allowed such recovery.

As the parties had not expressly agreed in writing to amend the arbitration clause to allow fee‑shifting outside that provision, the cost award was unenforceable.

The court dismissed the application to enforce the attorney’s fees and cost components of the arbitral award and held that post‑judgment interest would be governed by the statutory rate under the Courts of Justice Act.