Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

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Recent Decisions by National Courts

THE VIEW FROM EUROPE

England. In Ecobank Transnational Inc. v. Tanoh [2015] EWHC
1874 (Comm), the English Commercial Court confirmed on July 3,
2015 that it has jurisdiction to grant an injunction restraining the
enforcement of a court judgment obtained outside of the EU in breach
of an arbitration agreement. The court also provided guidance on
when it would be appropriate to grant such an injunction. In this case,
the injunction application was refused – largely on the grounds that
the applicant had delayed in bringing the application.

Background

Mr. Tanoh, a national of Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), had been
employed by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank) as its
CEO and Group Managing Director. On March 12, 2014, Ecobank
terminated (or purported to terminate) Mr. Tanoh’s employment.

Mr. Tanoh’s employment contract provided for disputes “arising
under or in connection with” the agreement to be referred to
arbitration in London under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. In
April 2014, Mr. Tanoh commenced proceedings in the Labor Tribunal
of Lomé in the Togolese Republic, contending that the termination of
his employment was in breach of the Labor Code in force in Togo and
was unfair. In May 2014, Mr. Tanoh commenced a second set of
court proceedings in the Abidjan Commercial Court in the Côte