DASSAULT AVIATION SA v MITSUI SUMITOMO INSURANCE CO LTD

DASSAULT AVIATION SA v MITSUI SUMITOMO INSURANCE CO LTD

The no-assignment clause in Article 15 of the Sale Contract is broad and applies to any transfer of rights that is voluntary or consented to by the party, including transfers resulting from a party's voluntary acts that trigger statutory mechanisms. The transfer of rights from MBA to MSI under Japanese law was the result of a series of voluntary acts by MBA (choosing to insure, selecting Japanese law, not excluding statutory transfer, and making a claim). Therefore, the transfer was not truly involuntary or by operation of law in the sense required to escape the prohibition. As a result, MSI did not acquire rights under the Sale Contract, and the arbitral tribunal lacked jurisdiction over...

Parties
Claimant: Dassault Aviation SA; Defendant: Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
20 December 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Arbitration Challenge / Judgment on Application to Set Aside Arbitral Award Under S.67 Arbitration Act 1996
Outcome
Application to set aside arbitral award allowed; tribunal's jurisdictional award set aside/varied.
Legal Topics
No Assignment Clauses, Subrogation, Jurisdiction of Arbitral Tribunal, Interpretation of Contracts, Assignment by Operation of Law
Contract Law Arbitration Insurance Law No Assignment Clauses Subrogation Jurisdiction of Arbitral Tribunal Interpretation of Contracts Assignment by Operation of Law

Case Brief

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Parties

Dassault Aviation SA

Claimant

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Arbitration Challenge / Judgment on Application to Set Aside Arbitral Award Under S.67 Arbitration Act 1996

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does a broadly worded no-assignment clause in an English law contract prohibit a transfer of rights to an insurer by operation of Japanese law?
  2. 2 Does the arbitral tribunal have jurisdiction over a claim brought by an insurer under such circumstances?

Ratio Decidendi

The no-assignment clause in Article 15 of the Sale Contract is broad and applies to any transfer of rights that is voluntary or consented to by the party, including transfers resulting from a party's voluntary acts that trigger statutory mechanisms. The transfer of rights from MBA to MSI under Japanese law was the result of a series of voluntary acts by MBA (choosing to insure, selecting Japanese law, not excluding statutory transfer, and making a claim). Therefore, the transfer was not truly involuntary or by operation of law in the sense required to escape the prohibition. As a result, MSI did not acquire rights under the Sale Contract, and the arbitral tribunal lacked jurisdiction over...

Court Disposition

Application to set aside arbitral award allowed; tribunal's jurisdictional award set aside/varied.

Orders

  • The Partial Award of the arbitral tribunal is set aside to the extent it found jurisdiction over MSI's claim against Dassault.
  • The tribunal has no jurisdiction to decide any dispute between Dassault and MSI that is the subject of the reference in the ICC arbitration, save potentially as regards consequential orders.