MORIS successfully represented a leading Ukrainian company as the claimant in arbitration proceedings conducted under the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) Rules before a sole arbitrator. The arbitration was seated in London, with English law applicable to all substantive matters.

Background

The dispute arose under a contract where the respondent (a Slovak company) had agreed to supply certain goods to our client (the claimant). The respondent refused to fulfil its contractual obligations, citing martial law in Ukraine as a force majeure event that allegedly prevented it from receiving further payments under the contract. The respondent further failed to deliver contracted goods and refused to refund prepayments already received from the claimant towards purchase of those goods.

MORIS developed both pre-arbitration and arbitration strategy for the case, which included preliminary correspondence with the counterparty, initiation of the arbitration proceedings, and providing full legal support during those proceedings.

Legal issues and the sole arbitrator’s decision

The sole arbitrator considered two key issues under English law:

• Whether the respondent could validly rely on force majeure clause under the contract.
• Whether the respondent breached the contract by failing to deliver goods and to refund prepayments to the claimant in a timely manner.

On the first issue, MORIS prevailed in convincing the sole arbitrator that under English law, the burden of proof rests with the party invoking the force majeure clause. In the sole arbitrator’s view, the respondent failed to meet this burden and was prevented from relying on the force majeure clause entirely.

On the second issue, the sole arbitrator found that the respondent breached the contract on both counts: its failure to deliver the contracted goods and to refund prepayments made by the claimant. The sole arbitrator confirmed that the contract explicitly required the respondent to refund the amounts already received, in the event of non-delivery of goods.

Thus, the sole arbitrator awarded full amount as claimed by MORIS’ client, that is, the full repayment of its prepayments plus interest, by relying on Section 49 of the English Arbitration Act 1996, which allows arbitral tribunals to award both pre- and post-award interests.

Further, in accordance with Section 61 of the English Arbitration Act 1996, the sole arbitrator ordered the respondent to pay all arbitration costs, including legal fees and arbitrator expenses, as the claimant prevailed on all substantive issues.

MORIS Team:

The case was led by MORIS Of Counsel Khrystyna Kostiushko, a solicitor qualified in England and Wales, alongside Partner Oksana Kobryn and Counsel Vitaliy Savetchuk.

This outcome reaffirms MORIS’ ability to represent clients in complex, high-stakes international arbitration proceedings, particularly in disputes requiring sophisticated analysis of contractual remedies and force majeure provisions, including both Ukrainian and foreign law.

For further information about MORIS international arbitration practice please visit the link.