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ARTICLE · 07 AUGUST 2023

Consumer Rights And Public Policy Prevent Recognition Of Crypto US Arbitration Award In England

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If an online business thinks it is insulated from court proceedings by an arbitration clause in standard terms, the English Commercial Court decision...

GlobalLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Martin King
Martin King
Bilal Khattab
Bilal Khattab

If an online business thinks it is insulated from court proceedings by an arbitration clause in standard terms, the English Commercial Court decision in Payward Inc. v Chechetkin1will give pause for thought, particularly where consumer rights are engaged. The English Court has refused to recognise a US arbitration award on public policy grounds, permitting a consumer to continue with English court claims against a US-headquartered crypto exchange, despite terms and conditions providing for Californian law and arbitration.

BACKGROUND

In 2017 Mr. Chechetkin, a British citizen residing in England, opened an online trading account with the Kraken crypto exchange, headquartered in San Francisco, California. In doing so, he contracted with Payward Limited (Payward), an English company providing the services of the Kraken exchange to UK customers. The Payward Terms of Service provided for any disputes to be decided by arbitration in San Francisco under the Judicial

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