Anti-enforcement Injunctions and the English Courts: From ‘Rare Beast’ to Common Beast?

The sanctions by the UK and European Union (EU) against Russia have raised difficult questions about upholding exclusive jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. One way of trying to uphold jurisdiction clauses is by granting injunctive relief to restrain the enforcement of any resulting judgment in breach of the same. This article examines the recent approach of the English Courts to granting Anti-Enforcement Injunctions (AEIs) which seek to restrain a party from enforcing a judgment obtained in a foreign Court in breach of a jurisdiction clause. Two shifts have occurred: the role of comity has been substantially marginalized; and the English Courts have been willing to grant AEI relief on a pre-emptive basis before any foreign judgment is rendered. The article argues that whilst these developments reflect an appropriate response to the use of Russian legislation to circumvent arbitration agreements and exclusive jurisdiction clauses, the Russian cases should be understood as exceptional and may not represent a permanent recalibration by the English Courts.