Court Limits Australia's Jurisdiction To Assist International Arbitrations

The Situation: Parties to contracts on major projects with a connection to Australia frequently arbitrate disputes elsewhere.

The Development: The Federal Court of Australia ("FCA") held that Australian courts do not have jurisdiction to issue subpoenas for foreign-seated arbitrations.

Looking Ahead: Until the decision is clarified, parties need to consider alternative procedures to obtain evidence in Australia for arbitrations seated outside the country.

A recent decision in the Federal Court of Australia (Samsung C&T Corporation, in the matter of Samsung C&T Corporation [2017] FCA 1169) calls into question the capacity of Australian courts to issue subpoenas in respect of arbitration proceedings seated outside Australia.