The London Steam-Ship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association Limited v The Kingdom of Spain (M/T ‘Prestige’)

The Club's appeal against the registration of the Spanish judgment succeeds.

The Spanish judgment is irreconcilable with the earlier English judgments enforcing the arbitral award, and/or its recognition would be contrary to English public policy on res judicata.

Spain's challenge to Sir Peter Gross's first partial award under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is dismissed.

The Court of Appeal has already definitively determined that Sir Peter Gross had jurisdiction.

Permission to appeal is granted on certain points under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 but the appeal is subsequently dismissed.

While the questions were of general public importance, Sir Peter Gross's conclusions were not obviously wrong and, in the relevant part, were not open to serious doubt.

Sir Peter Gross did not have jurisdiction to grant an injunction against Spain.

Section 13(2) of the State Immunity Act 1978 removes the court's jurisdiction to grant injunctions against states without consent; therefore, arbitrators, having only the 'same powers' as the court under section 48(5) of the Arbitration Act 1996, lack this power.