Commentary on the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 20 June 2022, Case C-273/18, London P&I Club

The London P&I Club judgment was expected to settle down certain issues regarding the relationship between arbitration and the Brussels I Regulation by deciding whether a judgement made under a United Kingdom law in terms of an arbitral award may be recognized as a judgment within the meaning of Article 34 of the Brussels I Regulation to the extent this provision permits refusal of recognition on the grounds of irreconcilability with a judgement of a Member State addressed. Despite giving an affirmative answer to the above question, the Court of Justice of the European Union has introduced completely new guidelines and limitations on the use of the irreconcilability grounds for refusal of recognition in order to prevent parties from abusing arbitration in order to circumvent binding provisions of the Brussels I Regulation. The commentary explores the grounds and historical context of the London P&I Club judgment, aiming to uncover the CJEU’s train of thought beyond what has been written in the court opinion, as well as attempting to provide a broader perspective on its consequences, beyond English judgments in terms of an arbitral award.