Topic > Overview of Confidentiality Cases in Arbitration Procedures

This essay will look at the case of John Foster Emmott v Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd, where the litigants were the claimant named John Foster Emmott and the defendant Michael Wilson and Partners Limited. In such a case, the UK Court of Appeal clarifies that the confidentiality of documents created in the arbitration can be waived under specific conditions. The decision to approve the disclosure of documents produced in English arbitration proceedings, which are required for similar court proceedings in New South Wales and the British Virgin Islands, was confirmed. The specific case concerned the degree of confidentiality of arbitration proceedings as they are embraced and affiliated worldwide. In the Emmott case, the case law created an implicit necessity for the parties not to disclose any documents produced, formulated or used in the arbitration. However, this obligation provides for some exceptions where there was a risk that foreign courts could be misled. Therefore, disclosure was necessary not only for the benefit of justice but also for the public good. The specific case focuses on the evolution of jurisprudence on issues of classification and protection in assertions. The Court emphasized that limits on confidentiality in arbitration should not obscure certainty as most adjudications taking place in England are handled with absolute discretion. Nonetheless, it is interesting to keep in mind that this particular case "goes beyond any previous authority in permitting disclosure for the purposes of foreign proceedings" despite the fact that the appellant was not actually involved in such proceedings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling authorizing the disclosure of records produced in the English arbitration proceedings. Arbitration is the legal way to resolve conflicts between two or more parties outside of court proceedings, with the intention of agreeing to be bound and reaching a resolution. This article will analyze in detail the methodology adopted in the landmark decision of the English Court of Appeal in this case, in relation to confidentiality. A detailed analysis of the Emmott case will be provided, followed by the Court's decision, and will focus on the sentences. Furthermore, it will be explained how the court reached this conclusion along with the legislation considered. Furthermore, the meaning of confidentiality will be explained, how it can be used, the advantages it has, as well as its disadvantages. In conclusion, this essay will answer the question of whether it is "necessary to preserve the duty of confidentiality in international commercial arbitration in the modern world", outlining its importance. Finally, the circumstances in which a duty of confidentiality may impact on parties to arbitration proceedings in England and Wales will be assessed. In 2001, the parties reached a mutual agreement under which the defendant joined the plaintiff's company, consolidated in the British Virgin Islands, as a director and senior legal advisor. Five years later, in 2006, the respondent decided to go to work for two other companies instead of the appellant's company, which was also based in the British Virgin Islands. As a result of this action, the defendant company argued, however, that the plaintiff's action was not pure; they were part of its strategy to reorient its business in breach of contract and trust. “This led to arbitration in London and court proceedings by the defendant in England under orders ofsearch and freezing orders in support of the arbitration and in New South Wales, British Virgin Islands, Jersey and Colorado". The judicial proceedings of the appellant's case, in New South Wales, the British Virgin Islands and in the London arbitration were part of the same argument. During the conflict, the company in question had represented to the New South Wales court that the fundamental disputes in such proceedings were equivalent to the London arbitration proceedings which took place in the New South Wales court South Wales, requested changes so that uniformity was brought to litigation in New South Wales, the British Virgin Islands and the London arbitration. However, arbitration claims against the petitioner have arisen in London claims are still effective in the New South Wales court. The claimant has applied to the Commercial Court for disclosure, for the reasons which led to the continuation in New South Wales and the British Virgin Islands, of the archives created in the arbitration of London. The request was granted by the judge who held that disclosure should be in the "public interest", with the intention that foreign courts would not be misled or possibly disappointed if ongoing cases in different proceedings raised substantially identical or similar claims . After the judge's decision, the defendant appealed and the main question that arose was whether the judge had jurisdiction to make the orders, and whether this was true, regardless of the correctness of his choice on the merits. The Court ruled that the appeal should be dismissed and that the limits of the confidentiality obligation in arbitration matters should be established on the basis of cases 'on the authorities as they stand'. The key cases where the statement would be acceptable established four permissible principles. Disclosure of documents will be permissible where (a) there is consent, express or implied; (b) whether the court has ordered or permitted such a declaration; however, this does not necessarily mean that the court has adopted a general caution in raising confidentiality liability; (c) when the revocation of the confidentiality obligation was undoubtedly mandatory to safeguard the "legitimate interest of an arbitral party"; and finally when (c) disclosure of the documents was in the best interests of justice. The arbitration that took place was private; however, this did not necessarily mean that the arbitrator was reserved for all reasons. The authorities have put in place an implicit legal obligation that emerges from the merits of the arbitration. This responsibility referred to both parties not to disclose any documents or even not to use them for any other occasion if such documents were collected and used in the decision-making process. In addition to this, the parties were under an obligation not to disclose in any way what evidence was provided to them by any witness in the arbitration. Regardless, that limitation had its exceptions. The Court stated that it was in fact “a substantive rule of arbitration law arrived at through the use of an implied term.” In the Emmott judgment such a request should be considered as a request for disclosure of documents as a consequence of the fact that the duty of confidentiality was not respected. The judge used other jurisdictions to decide the confidentiality issue. Identified and used the arguments and defense arguments used in New South Wales and the British Virgin Islands and concluded that on uncommon occasions disclosure of confidentiality should be permittedof the amended claims. Taking into account the elements present in the present case of the disputes themselves, the changes to the procedures to bring a level of equality and the rejection of fraud claims in the London arbitration, as well as the threat that the New South Wales court could be misled , it was demonstrated that disclosure of the documents was required in the best interests of justice. Equity interests were not limited to equity interests in England. Summing up what has already been mentioned, the appellant has asked the court for an order allowing the disclosure of documents produced in a London judgment to the courts of New South Wales and the British Virgin Islands. Following the Court of Appeal's decision, the defendant initially made allegations of fraud against the claimant, but later withdrew them. The Court of Appeal decided that the interests of equity required disclosure of documents produced in the arbitration proceedings in proceedings in New South Wales and the British Virgin Islands so as to prevent those courts from being misled. In the court proceedings, extortion claims were made against Mr Emmott, who had withdrawn from the transaction. Lawrence Collins LJ made it clear that the liability not to expose documents arises during the resolution of a dispute and may be based on the idea of ​​the information and the circumstances in which it emerges. He provided a helpful synopsis of the conditions under which disclosure of such documents is permitted. Document disclosure may apply if (a) the parties have expressed or implied their consent; where (b) the court gives its leave; (c) when it is important to protect the legitimate interests of the parliamentary party; and (d) when the disclosure is for the benefit of justice or the benefit of the public. Some problematic practical issues may be raised by the confidentiality of the arbitration with respect to the degree to which extraneous documents, evidence or awards may be discovered. In arbitration agreements the duty of confidentiality is implied by law. It covers all legal documents generated in the arbitration, regardless of whether such documents are by their nature confidential. The confidentiality obligation may be different by agreement of the parties. The limitations to the confidentiality obligation consist of the conditions (i) in which there is the consent of the parties, express or implicit; (ii) in the presence of a court order; (iii) where it is reasonably vital to the protection of the legitimate interests of a party to the dispute; and finally (iv) when the need for disclosure of documents is in the best interests of justice or the public. Over the years, numerous disagreements have been raised about what the true advantages of international arbitration are over local legal proceedings. Complaints, such as cost, are raised about whether such factors truly remain a benefit or not. In a blog about arbitration, writer Lisa Bench Nieuwveld published in 2012 her opinion that privacy is one of the greatest benefits of global corporate discretion for business matters. It ensures that legal complications in one single market do not affect profitable businesses in another. National legal proclamations have caused a fracture in the understanding of privacy. Great Britain suggests confidentiality in arbitration proceedings where local courts further expand the legitimate procedure by granting exemptions to the common rule of non-disclosure. On the other hand, the confidentiality obligation does not impose a legal obligation. Taking this into account, arbitral institutions should strive to abstract away uncertainties about the privacy protection regime inmultinational arbitrations. Many individuals new to arbitration are under the impression that confidentiality is best and presents the advantages offered by international arbitration. After gaining experience and greater awareness on the topic, they learn that "some jurisdictions protect confidentiality in the context of dispute resolution"; so far neither the qualification of the proceedings nor the very presence of arbitration can be automatically protected. He also paraphrased a presentation he attended with the principal preceptor, Mr Rees, who highlighted the fact that Australia "has been an example of a jurisdiction moving away from this protection and the Attorney General wants this protection, in particular in initiatives where a debate may emerge between organizations in one part of the world while in another part of the world friendly and profitable initiatives continue. However, most arbitration institutions address privacy in arbitration in their own specific way; Most of these institutions urge the court to respect the secrecy of sensitive information or require the parties to do so. Very few organizations attach a mandatory confidentiality clause. In addition to this, it is worth mentioning that the Court of International Arbitration in London ( LCIA), appears to have a clause similar to that of paragraph 30. Furthermore, in 2012 the Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce give the green light to the arbitration panel to act optionally if they intend to take the necessary measures to protect confidential matters and trade secrets . Often such protection does not exist, resulting in courts making no attempt to protect the privacy of the parties involved. Furthermore, the significant arbitration acts of other jurisdictions differ significantly. In the United States, for example, confidentiality is not governed by the Federal Arbitration Act; has been recognized as significant for arbitration by the courts. In English international arbitration law, confidentiality is not as undisputed a component as one might believe. Dr Ioanna Thoma calls confidentiality in English arbitration law “coherent and fragmentary at the same time”. In English law, confidentiality has motivated many people to address it and contrast its features with external jurisdictions, particularly those that deny its existence, such as Australia. Perspectives on how desirable privacy is in England vary widely. Such opinions are addressed with both “words and silence.” Although arbitration was widely practiced in London, prior to 1980, confidentiality was not really a practice in adjudications. After the 1980s, lawyers unexpectedly began to argue for or against confidentiality, in accordance with their clients' orders, while judges were called upon to create and contribute another building block to the common law. In the mid-1990s, the authors of the 1996 Arbitration Law realized that the task they had undertaken, namely adapting confidentiality to everyday life, had proven "controversial and difficult". Many exceptions had to be made and qualifications pursued for confidentiality to work. For this reason the issue has been handed over to the courts to be applied when necessary and on a 'concrete' basis. Lord Mustill, in the mid-1990s, expressed a demoralizing warning to the courts against attempting to represent privacy. In particular, it stated that: “To provide an accurate account of confidentiality as a whole would require a much broader investigation of the law and practice that was necessary for a decision on restrictionquestion raised by the appeal and cannot, in my opinion, opinion be safely attempted in the abstract.” Until the second half of the 20th century, the terms 'confidentiality' and 'privacy' in arbitration were used similarly. Despite this, the meaning of these terms has been clarified. Nowadays the term "privacy" implies that no outsider can participate in arbitration deliberations and hearings, while "confidentiality" refers to the non-disclosure of documents in public. Private hearings do not really imply confidentiality obligations to the parties to the arbitration. The general assumption is that the arbitration process is not only private but also secret, which in this matter will be corrected in the 21st century. Therefore, one of the essential explanations why intervention is the preferred option for resolving commercial disputes is the confidentiality of the contract. The mentioned hypothesis moves from the usual interpretation of an arbitration agreement which constitutes a legally binding private act. During the 1990s, this assumption changed with the Australian and Swedish courts rejecting any implied liability relating to failure to disclose legal agreements in arbitration. The Swedish Supreme Court ruled that, under UK-ECE standards or Swedish law, there was no implied duty of confidentiality in private arbitration. Furthermore, the High Court of Australia has identified that private arbitration hearings do not cover disclosed details and other relevant documents which are confidential as confidentiality is lacking in that country. These benchmarks make privacy protection broader in a situation where parties aim to keep specific information private. With the result that the principle of privacy enforcement is not universally the same. To make this clearer, several other jurisdictions have created new arbitration laws and some arbitration institutions have changed their rules. Alix Partners, a US consultancy firm, together with financial investor Kingsbridge Capital Advisors due to the unwanted attention they got, led to an argument over the privacy of arbitration proceedings. While in some countries their framework is based on arbitration, it is known that implicit privacy cannot be accepted in arbitration procedures. Other countries have followed an alternative approach on how to pursue an obligation towards the parties, the authorities or even both. The idea of ​​assertion procedures and the degree of privacy is based on the seat of the arbitration and the arbitral principles applicable to the arbitration. The issue of confidentiality is complex due to the contributions of various parties acting in the arbitration and who are not administered by the arbitration. arbitration rules or agreements; even if they get close and have access to confidential information. There is no consistency between nations and global arbitration foundations in the scope of application of the principle of confidentiality. Despite this, the English Arbitration Act 1996 does not mention confidentiality and outlines three standards. The first rule provides that the arbitration proceedings must take place behind closed doors. Therefore, confidentiality will be implicit in every agreement and such confidentiality is subject to specific exemptions, in particular court orders, approval of the parties, public interest and reasonable necessity. These rules were formulated and defined for the first time in the Trogir Shipyard by the Court of Appeal. In the English legislative system the courts aim to protect privacy as long as this right does not act to the detriment of fairness and justice. In the Emmott case, all classified information was separated into two parts: the first part was classified data fornature, such as trade secrets; and the second part was information protected by an insinuating duty of privacy with the ultimate goal that such would only apply as a statement. Such exceptions to implied confidentiality were identified in the case of the Trogir shipyard. Addressing the topic of how to maintain confidentiality in international commercial arbitration, the answer is that there is no known way on how to handle maintaining confidentiality in arbitration worldwide. However, parties can choose the level of privacy they want. During the drafting of the arbitration provision, extraordinary supervision is required to ensure the confidentiality of the relationships and interests of the parties. Civil law and common law courts have different opinions on various privacy issues. Some examples listed show their concerns about issues such as (a) whether the privacy violation extends to all information regarding procedures, or only to sensitive information regarding the company, such as trading. Furthermore, another point that courts take into consideration is whether witnesses are obligated to maintain confidentiality? And (c) whether such privacy will be maintained throughout the legal proceedings arising out of the arbitration. While institutional rules support confidentiality, the ICC Rules do not provide the equivalent, leaving it to the discretion of the court to act accordingly. Due to irregularities in national laws and institutional rules, parties must ensure that their interests are protected by including specific confidentiality provisions in the arbitration agreement. The arbitration provision should ensure the secrecy of all reports, those exchanged and those preceding disclosure, in order to avoid the disclosure of classified documents. This ensures the non-disclosure of company secrets. If the disclosure is made in bad faith, the defaulting party will run the risk of compensating the injured party. These are the confidentiality requirements for documents. Third parties will have obligations of confidentiality in relation to "statements, court deliberations and final awards as they should be kept confidential by the court, the parties, witnesses, experts and administrative staff" and all witnesses should sign a document of confidentiality agreement to be bound by these obligations. A legitimate administration with strong privacy protection will be the final point to pronounce a safe arbitration law. When the adopted arbitration rules fail to provide an adequate protective order, these provisions intervene. If the commercial parties believe that a broad arbitration order is detrimental to the agreement, the terms must be discussed inclusively at an early stage. The persons involved in the agreement must clearly state the protection order necessary to ensure the correct drafting of the discretion provision. As has been noted, many different arbitral institutions fail to provide similar standards due to the “prevailing competition in the arbitration industry”. Often the parties involved choose a non-exclusive mediation clause to avoid focusing on unexpected future conflicts, which is why a fair privacy protection mechanism is the need of great importance. Mr Samuel suggests that at the outset of dispute resolution, courts should get buy-in from the parties on their view of confidentiality. In the event that the parties cannot reach an agreement, it is recommended that the judge proceeds with a protective order which will be considered acceptable to both parties. If an individual alleges that there is a violation.