ML Ubase Holdings Co Limited v Trigem Computer Inc

The case of ML Ubase Holdings Co Limited versus Trigem Computer Inc involved a dispute over the enforcement of an arbitral award made in New York. The award was made under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and was considered a "foreign award" as per the International Arbitration Act 1974. Both parties to the arbitral award were also parties to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The court was required to consider whether the plaintiff could proceed with an application for leave to enforce the arbitral award in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, despite the defendant's argument that the application could not proceed due to an issue with service of process.

The central legal issue was whether the personal service of the originating application effected on the defendant was valid and in accordance with the Supreme Court Rules, or whether the service was invalid due to a perceived conflict with the Treaty on Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters between Australia and the Republic of Korea. The court was required to determine whether there was any destructive tension between the personal service of the originating application and the service under the Treaty.

The court held that there was no destructive tension between the two methods of service, and that the Treaty provisions were permissive rather than mandatory. The court found that the personal service of the originating application on the defendant was valid and in accordance with the Supreme Court Rules, and that the application could proceed before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The court held that the Treaty provisions did not prevent the plaintiff from proceeding with the application for leave to enforce the arbitral award.

The court granted the plaintiff's application for leave to proceed with the enforcement of the arbitral award. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs of the application.