In the latest issue of ThoughtLeaders4 FIRE Magazine, Wilson Leung examines the Privy Council’s judgment in Sian Participation Corp v Halimeda International Ltd [2024] UKPC 16, where the court addressed the interplay between insolvency proceedings and forum selection clauses (i.e. arbitration clauses and exclusive jurisdiction clauses). The Privy Court held that, even if the underlying contract contains a forum selection clause, the debtor must demonstrate a genuine and substantial dispute on the debt before the court would stay the insolvency proceedings in favour of arbitration or the foreign court. In doing so, the Privy Council overturned the previous leading authority in England. This article also poses the question of whether the Privy Council’s analysis represents a triumph of form over substance.

The piece was first published with ThoughtLeaders4 Fire Magazine.