Celtic Resources Holdings Plc v Arduina Holding BV

Celtic Resources Holdings Plc sought to register a UK arbitration award in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and obtain a Mareva injunction to prevent the dissipation of assets by Arduina Holding BV, an alleged respondent to the arbitration, and Austock Nominees Pty Ltd. The UK award was not yet enforceable as it had not been served on Arduina. The court held that it could not register the award under the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth) as it could not be enforced in the UK. The court also found that it would be inconsistent with the UK procedural requirements to grant a Mareva injunction. While the court accepted it had inherent jurisdiction to grant Mareva relief in aid of foreign proceedings, the court found that there was no abuse of process as the award could not be enforced in the UK. The application to register the judgment and for the Mareva injunction was dismissed.