Content area
Abstract
In Channel Tunnel Group Ltd. v. Balfour Beatty (1993), the House of Lords addressed the issue of the jurisdiction of an English court to grant injunctive relief in aid of court or arbitral proceedings taking place abroad. In the case, the consortium of tunnellers and the contractors working on the English Channel tunnel became involved in a dispute concerning the cost of a cooling system. The contract provided that disputes would be resolved through arbitration in Brussels. The contractors eventually gave notice of their intention to suspend all work on the cooling system until there was an agreement. The consortium applied to the English courts for an injunction restraining the contractors from ceasing work. The contractors responded by applying for a stay of the judicial proceedings. The House of Lords upheld the stay, finding that there was a general jurisdiction to stay any proceedings which are brought in breach of a prior agreement between the parties to submit their differences for resolution elsewhere.