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Sudhanshu Swaroop QC - Twenty Essex
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Sudhanshu practises commercial, arbitration and public international law. He has acted in landmark and leading cases across his areas of practice.
His commercial and arbitration work encompasses a wide range of sectors, including shipping and international trade, energy and natural resources, and banking and finance. Sudhanshu also acts regularly in challenges to the jurisdiction of the English courts, applications for freezing orders and other urgent relief, arbitration applications to court and matters of enforcement.
Sudhanshu’s recent and ongoing public international work has covered (for example) bilateral investment treaties, international environmental law and the law of immunities.
As an advocate, he has substantial and broad experience. Sudhanshu is used to cross-examining on complex factual and expert issues at trial, as well as arguing novel or difficult points of law on appeal. He has acted at all levels of the English courts (including the Supreme Court), in countless international commercial arbitrations (including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, GAFTA, LMAA, LME and FCC), at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, in inter-state arbitration in The Hague, and at the European Court of Human Rights.
Sudhanshu accepts appointments as an arbitrator.
Barlow and others v BP plc and others: high-profile case arising from the 2013 terrorist attacks at the “In Amenas” gas plant in Algeria (ongoing).
Euro-Asian SA v Credit Suisse AG and others [2017] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 287; [2018] EWCA Civ 1720 (CA): trial of substantial claims against an oil trader (under a CIF contract) and a bank (under a letter of indemnity) for non-delivery of cargo in the context of alleged carousel fraud.
Uttam Galva Steels Ltd v Gunvor Singapore PTE Ltd [2018] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 152: jurisdiction challenge under s 67 Arbitration Act 1996 about whether an arbitration clause in a contract for the supply of nickel covered claims under related bills of exchange, and also about the construction of the LME Arbitration Regulations.
Florez and others v Equion Energia Ltd (formerly BP Exploration Company (Colombia) Ltd) [2016] EWHC 1699 (TCC): five-month trial of claims for environmental damage in Colombia, allegedly caused by the installation of an oil pipeline. Described in the media as “one of the largest cases in environmental legal history”.
Vava and others v Anglo American South Africa Ltd; Young v Anglo American South Africa Ltd and others [2013] Bus LR D 65; [2014] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 606 (CA): test case, in the context of personal injury claims by South African gold miners, about whether a South African company allegedly controlled by its English parent company was “domiciled” in England for the purposes of jurisdiction.
Breffka & Hehnke GmbH Co KG v Navire Shipping Co Ltd and others [2013] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 401: trial of fraud claim in relation to the signature of clean bills of lading for steel cargoes, raising novel issues as to the meaning and effect of a “RETLA” clause.
Chandler v Cape Plc [2012] 1 WLR 3111: landmark case in which the Court of Appeal held that a parent company owed a duty of care in tort to an employee of its subsidiary and that this duty was not precluded by the company law concept of limited liability. Lady Justice Arden commented that the issues were “of some importance not only to the parties but to other cases”.
Sherdley v Nordea Life and Pensions SA (Societe Anonyme) [2012] 2 All ER (Comm); [2012] Lloyd’s Rep IR 437 (CA): challenge to the jurisdiction of the English courts in the context of claims for mis-selling of financial products.
PT Thiess Contractors Indonesia v PT Kaltim Prima Coal [2011] EWHC 1842; [2011] Arb LR 26; [2012] EWCA Civ 690 (Comm): application for a stay of English court proceedings brought under a “cash distribution agreement”, in the context of an overlapping arbitration in Singapore under a “mining services agreement” and overlapping dispute resolution provisions. The matter proceeded to trial in England, raising intricate questions about the construction of the cash distribution agreement.
Congentra AG v Sixteen Thirteen Marine SA [2008] EWHC 1615 (Comm); [2009] 1 All ER (Comm) 479; [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 602: a leading case on freezing orders, with issues, inter alia, about the correct test for the grant of relief and the procedure for continuing a freezing order where a substantive arbitration is taking place.
Public international law (key cases)
Enrica Lexie (Italy v India) Provisional Measures, Order of 24 August 2015, ITLOS Reports 2015, p182; PCA Case 2015-28; Order, Request for the Prescription of Provisional Measures, 29 April 2016: representing the Italian Republic in high-profile proceedings against India under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning two Italian marines who had been stationed on board the MV Enrica Lexie. The proceedings are ongoing at the PCA (under Annex VII of UNCLOS), following an initial hearing at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Reyes v Al-Malki [2017] UKSC 61; [2017] 3 WLR 923; [2018] 1 All ER 629 (Supreme Court); [2016] 1 WLR 1785 (CA): a leading case on diplomatic immunity, concerning the application of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in relation to employment claims and human trafficking allegations.
Freedom & Justice Party and others v SoS for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and others [2016] EWHC 2010 (Admin); [2018] EWCA Civ 1719 (CA): test case challenging the assertion of special missions immunity in relation to the attempted arrest of the Chief of Egyptian Armed Forces for torture. Raises fundamental issues as to the principles for establishing a rule of customary international law, and as to the relationship between international law and common law.
R (Campaign Against Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2017] EWHC 1726 (QB); [2017] HRLR 8; [2017] ACD 103: judicial review of UK licences for arms sales to Saudi Arabia, concerning the risk of arms being used to commit breaches of international humanitarian law during the conflict in Yemen.
City of London v Sancheti [2009] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 117 (CA): the first case about the power to stay English court proceedings where a related bilateral investment treaty arbitration is taking place. The case also concerned the relationship between “contract claims” and “treaty claims”.
Bechtel and others v Government of India: acted for the Government of India in the massive bilateral investment treaty arbitration (under UNCITRAL rules) relating to the Dabhol Power Station.
A substantial part of Sudhanshu’s practice involves international arbitration, both ad hoc and under institutional rules (eg FOSFA, FCC, GAFTA, ICC, LCIA, LMAA, LME and UNICTRAL). His work encompasses international commercial arbitration; investment treaty arbitration; inter-state arbitration; and related court applications (including for enforcement, challenges to awards under s67, s68 and s69 of the 1996 Arbitration Act 1997 and applications for interim relief under s44).
Examples of his international commercial arbitration work are set out in the sections on “Energy and Natural Resources”; “Shipping and Commodities”; and “Insurance and Reinsurance”. Other examples of his cases are as follows:
Arbitration applications to court
Uttam Galva Steels Ltd v Gunvor Singapore PTE Ltd [2018] EWHC 1098 (Comm) – jurisdiction challenge under s67 of the Arbitration Act 1996, raising issues as to whether an arbitration clause in the “Master Sales Contract” between the parties covered claims under related bills of exchange.
PT Thiess Contractors Indonesia v PT Kaltim Prima Coal [2011] EWHC 1842; [2011] Arb LR 26 (Judgment of Blair J) – application under s9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 for a stay of English High Court proceedings brought under a “Cash Distribution Agreement” in circumstances where there was an overlapping arbitration in Singapore under a mining services agreement.
Razcom CI v Barry Callebaut Sourcing AG [2010] EWHC 2598 (Judgment of Hamblen J) – application under s66 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to enforce arbitration award, raising issues as to whether “payment” had already been made and/or that payment had been “accepted”.
STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd v Ugland Bulk Transport A.S. (The “LIVANITA”) [2008] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 86 – application under 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to appeal on a point of law in a dispute under a charterparty.
Bluewater Energy Services BV v Technip Offshore International [2006] EWHC 2879 (Commercial Court) – application under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 to set aside an LCIA award for “serious irregularity” in a dispute about the operation of an FPSO.
Sudhanshu has lectured extensively on bilateral investment treaties and his expertise in this area has gained specific legal directory recognition. His cases include the following:
City of London v Sancheti [2009] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 117 (Court of Appeal) – the first case about the power of the court to stay English Court proceedings where a related Bilateral Investment Treaty Arbitration is taking place. The case also concerned the relationship between “contract claims” and “treaty claims”.
Bechtel and Others v Government of India – represented the Government of India in the massive bilateral investment treaty arbitration (under UNCITRAL rules) relating to the Dabhol Power Station.
BIT claim v Central Asian State – advised investors and drafted Notice of Claim in BIT claim relating to mining investments in a Central Asian State.
BIT claim v Middle Eastern State – advised investors on BIT claim relating to property investments in a Middle Eastern State.
BIT claim v African State – advised investors on BIT claim relating to energy investments in an African State.
Enrica Lexie Incident (Italy v India) PCA Case No. 2015-28 – representing the Italian Republic in ongoing proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration under Annex VII of the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” (see e.g. Order, Request for the Prescription of Provisional Measures, 29 April 2016). The case concerns two Italian marines stationed on board the “MV Enrica Lexie”.
Sudhanshu has wide-ranging experience of banking and finance cases, including a string of claims for alleged misselling by banks and claims of alleged fraud. He was also seconded to the Financial Services Authority (Spring 2000), where he advised on aspects of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (as it then was) and acted in regulatory matters. His cases include the following:
Euro-Asian SA v Credit Suisse AG and Others [2016] EWHC 3340 (Comm); [2017] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 287 – claims against an oil trader and a bank for non-delivery of cargo under a contract of sale and letter of indemnity, which formed part of a series of carousel transactions, raising issues of alleged fraud. The Court of Appeal judgment is pending.
Vik v United Kingdom – application in the European Court of Human Rights under Article 6 ECHR (right to a fair hearing) challenging the largest non-party costs order ever made by the English Courts, arising from the litigation in Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc and Alexander Vik.
Sherdley v Nordea Life and Pensions SA (Societe Anonyme) [2012] EWCA Civ 88; [2012] 2 All ER (Comm) 725; [2013] ILPr 26; [2012] Lloyd’s Rep IR 437 (Court of Appeal) – challenge to the jurisdiction of the English Courts to try misselling claims relating to two “Managed Capital Plan” contracts, raising issues as to the provisions of the Brussels Regulation that govern jurisdiction “in matters relating to insurance” and whether there was a jurisdiction agreement for the purposes of Article 23 of the Regulation.
Hill Street Services Company Ltd v National Westminster Bank plc EWHC 2379 (Ch) (Judgment of Peter Smith J) – claim by the company that the bank had made unauthorised transfers from a current account to the account held by the company’s sole director and shareholder.
Stax Litigation – claims against banks and IFAs in relation to allegedly fraudulent pension fund transfer scheme, see e.g. [2007] EWHC 143 (Ch) 01 Feb 2007 (Judgment of Warren J).
FSA v Sean Fradley and 147 Racing Limited (t/a Top Bet Placement Services) [2004] EWHC 3008 (Ch); [2005] 1 BCLC 479; Times Law Reports, 8 November 2004 – proceedings brought by the FSA, raising issues under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, including the meaning of “collective investment scheme”.
Amalgamated Metal Trading v City of London Police Financial Investigation Unit and others [2003] 1 WLR 2711 – a leading case on s93A to F Criminal Justice Act 1993 regarding alleged money laundering and the steps that a bank must take where there is suspicion that a customer’s account represents “the proceeds of crime” within the meaning of the 1993 Act.
Sudhanshu has acted in a variety of commercial disputes, covering matters such as claims for civil fraud, transnational tort claims and group claims against multi-national corporations, jurisdiction challenges and applications for freezing orders. Examples are as follows:
Barlow and Others v BP plc and Others (ongoing) – civil claims arising from the 2013 terrorist attacks at the “In Amenas” oil facility in Algeria.
Florez and Others v Equion Energia Ltd (formerly BP Exploration Company (Colombia) Ltd) [2016] EWHC 1699 (TCC) – represented a group of Colombian farmers claiming for environmental damage caused by the installation of an oil pipeline. The trial, in the Technology and Construction Court, lasted 5 months and involved multiple expert and factual witnesses. Described in the media as “one of the largest cases in environmental legal history”.
Young v Anglo American South Africa Ltd and others (No 2) [2014] Bus LR 1434; [2014] ILPr 40 (Court of Appeal); Vava and others v Anglo American South Africa Ltd (No 2); Young v Anglo American South Africa Ltd and others (No 2) [2013] Bus LR D65 (Judgment of Andrew Smith J) – personal injury claims by a large group of South African gold miners, raising an important question of jurisdiction as to whether (under the Brussels Regulation) a South African subsidiary had its “domicile” in England due to the relationship with its English parent company.
Breffka & Hehnke GmbH Co KG v Navire Shipping Co Ltd and others [2013] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 401 – claim for fraud in relation to the signature of clean B/Ls for steel cargoes, raising issues as to the meaning and effect of a “RETLA” clause.
Chandler v Cape Plc [2012] 1 WLR 3111 (Court of Appeal) – landmark case in which the claimant sued a parent company for asbestosis caused whilst he had been an employee of a subsidiary company, which was no longer in existence. The court held that the parent owed a duty of care in tort directly to the employee of its subsidiary. Lady Justice Arden described the case as being “…of some importance not only to the parties but to other cases”.
PT Thiess Contractors Indonesia v PT Kaltim Prima Coal (Judgment of Teare J) [2012] EWCA Civ 525 – claim about the proper construction of a “Cash Distribution Agreement” for mining services and whether substantial sums of money, which had not been approved by an arbitral tribunal, had to be transferred into a “Dispute Account” by way of security.
LCIA arbitration – acted in an LCIA arbitration concerning allegations of professional negligence against an international management consultancy firm.
Dynastic Maritime Inc v Al Dawood Shipping Lines Ltd [2010] All ER (D) 224 (Feb) (Court of Appeal) – claim under a time charter, raising issues as to the nature of Owners’ obligations in relation to the Vessel’s “Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate” and procedural issues as to the principles that apply where a party fails to comply with an “unless order” and then seeks to set aside the resulting judgment.
Congentra AG v Sixteen Thirteen Marine SA [2008] EWHC 1615 (Comm); [2009] 1 All ER (Comm) 479; [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 602 – application to set aside a Freezing Order, raising issues as to applicable law, whether a Freezing Order requires an “accrued ” cause of action, whether English law recognises the tort of “wrongful attachment” (in relation to a “Rule B” attachment which had been obtained in New York) and the correct procedure for continuing a freezing order where a substantive arbitration is taking place.
Hill Street Services Company Ltd v National Westminster Bank plc [2007] EWHC 2379 (Ch) (Judgment of Peter Smith J) – claim by a company that the bank had made unauthorised transfers from a current account to the account held by the company’s sole director and shareholder.
Bluewater Energy Services BV v Technip Offshore International – acted in substantial arbitration and in subsequent court proceedings (Bluewater Energy Services BV v Technip Offshore International [2006] EWHC 2879) concerning the delivery and installation of an FPSO to the Sable Field, off the coast of South Africa.
Texuna International Ltd v Cairn Energy Plc – claim for over US$100million arising from unsuccessful bid for oil exploration rights in Turkmenistan.
Texuna International Ltd v Cairn Energy Plc [2005] 1 BCLC 579 – a leading case on the principles applicable to security for costs applications.
FSA v Sean Fradley (t/a Top Bet Placement Services) [2004] EWHC 3008 (Ch); [2005] 1 BCLC 479; Times Law Reports, 8 November 2004 – proceedings brought by the FSA, raising issues under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, including the meaning of “collective investment scheme”.
Royal Bank of Canada v Maurice Howell and Others; Filmline International v Etheridge and Others – represented insurers in film finance litigation concerning the proper construction of a TVC insurance policy and allegations of non-disclosure and misrepresentation.
Trident Fashions plc (In Administration) (No 2), Re [2004] EWHC 293 (Ch); [2004] 2 BCLC 35; Times, April 23, 2004 Trident Fashions plc (In Administration) (No. 1), Re [2004] EWHC 351 (Ch); [2004] 2 BCLC 28 – shareholders challenging a Company Voluntary Arrangement relating to the retailers “Ciro Citterio” for alleged misrepresentation at the creditors’ meeting.
LCIA Arbitration – acted in an LCIA arbitration concerning a dispute over shares in an oil facility in Kazakhstan.
Jindal Iron and Steel Co ltd and Others v Islamic Solidarity Shipping Company [2005] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 57 (House of Lords); [2003] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 87 (Court of Appeal and High Court) – a leading case on the law on cargo claims, raising issues as to the construction of “FIOST” clauses in charterparties and bill of lading contracts and the extent to which The Hague Convention abrogates freedom of contract.
Schimon Schestowitz Ltd v Security (North West) Ltd [2001] All ER (D) 350 (May) – a tort claim for damages in circumstances where cargo was stolen from a warehouse, raising issues as to vicarious liability for fraud.
Macieo Shipping Ltd v Clipper Shipping Lines Ltd [2000] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 645 – claim under a time charter for damage caused by fire, raising issues as to liability for allegedly incompetent stevedores.
Varg Topsides – acted in long running LCIA arbitration concerning the design and construction of the topsides of the Varg FPSO.
Sudhanshu has a wide-ranging practice in the field of Energy and Natural Resources. He has acted in court (including the Technology and Construction Court) and in arbitration on claims relating to, inter alia: EPC Contracts; delay and disruption; variations to work scope; construction and operation of FPSOs; shipbuilding contracts; installation of oil pipelines; operation of power stations; mining services agreements; environmental protection measures; transnational tort litigation; group claims against multinational corporations; claims for personal injury and death; and investment treaties. His cases include the following:
BIT claim v Central Asian State – advised investors and drafted Notice of Claim in bilateral investment treaty claim relating to mining investments in a Central Asian State.
Bechtel and Others v Government of India – represented the Government of India in the bilateral investment treaty arbitration (under UNCITRAL rules) relating to the Dabhol Power Station.
Sudhanshu’s experience encompasses insurance, reinsurance and related private international law issues. His cases include the following:
Sherdley v Nordea Life and Pensions SA (Societe Anonyme) [2012] EWCA Civ 88; [2012] 2 All ER (Comm) 725; [2013] ILPr 26; [2012] Lloyd’s Rep IR 437 (Court of Appeal) – challenge to the jurisdiction of the English Courts to try claims relating to two “Managed Capital Plan” contracts, raising issues as to the provisions of the Brussels Regulation that govern jurisdiction “in matters relating to insurance” and whether there was a jurisdiction agreement for the purposes of Article 23 of the Regulation.
Acted for reinsurers in an arbitration arising from Kingscroft and others v Nissan.
Most of Sudhanshu’s cases have an international element and many raise issues of private international law relating to (for example): jurisdiction challenges; applicable law; injunctions and other applications for interim relief; and enforcement. His cases include the following:
Young v Anglo American South Africa Ltd and others (No 2) [2014] Bus LR 1434; [2014] ILPr 40 (Court of Appeal); Vava and others v Anglo American South Africa Ltd (No 2); Young v Anglo American South Africa Ltd and others (No 2) [2013] Bus LR D65 (Judgment of Andrew Smith J) – personal injury claims by a large group of South African gold miners, raising an important question of jurisdiction as to whether (under the Brussels Regulation) a South African subsidiary had its “domicile” in England due to its relationship with its English parent company.
PIL and human rights
Sudhanshu has acted in domestic and international courts and tribunals on a host of Public International Law issues, including immunities; investment treaties; law of the sea; international organisations; international humanitarian law and international human rights law. His cases include the following:
Reyes v Al-Malki [2017] UKSC 61; [2017] 3 WLR 923; [2018] 1 All ER 629 (Supreme Court); [2016] 1 LR 1785 (Court of Appeal) – an important case on diplomatic immunity, concerning the application of the “Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations” in relation to employment and human trafficking claims, in the context of a diplomat who had left his post.
R (Campaign Against Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2017] EWHC 1726 (QB); [2017] HRLR. 8; [2017] ACD 103 – judicial review of UK licences for arms sales to Saudi Arabia, concerning the risk of arms being used to commit breaches of international humanitarian law during the conflict in Yemen.
Freedom & Justice Party and Others v SoS for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others [2016] EWHC 2010 (Admin) – a challenge to the assertion of “special missions immunity” in relation to the attempted arrest of the Chief of Egyptian Armed Forces for torture. Raises important issues, including the principles for establishing a rule of customary international law, and the relationship between international law and the common law. The Court of Appeal judgment is pending.
Al-Juffali v Estrada [2016] EWCA Civ 176 – counsel to the interested party in Court of Appeal proceedings concerning the immunity of a permanent representative to an international organisation.
A v Secretary of State for the Home Secretary [2006] 2 AC 221 (House of Lords) – the seminal case on whether evidence alleged to have been obtained by torture is admissible to detain terrorist suspects.
Enrica Lexie (Italy v India) PCA Case No. 2015-28 – representing the Italian Republic in ongoing proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration under Annex VII of the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” (see e.g. Order, Request for the Prescription of Provisional Measures, 29 April 2016). The case concerns two Italian marines stationed on board the “MV Enrica Lexie”.
Enrica Lexie Incident (Italy v India) Provisional Measures, Order of 24 August 2015, ITLOS Reports 2015, p182 – represented the Italian Republic in provisional measures proceedings in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Chiragov and Others v Armenia (2016) 63 EHRR 9 (Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights) – test case relating to the ethnic conflict in the Ngorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, raising issues as to the jurisdictional scope of the ECHR (under Article 1) and whether Armenia exercised “effective control” outside of its territory.
Del Rio Prada v Spain (2014) 58 EHRR 37 (Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights) – test case challenging prison sentences imposed by Spain on members of ETA, raising issues as to retrospectivity (under Article 7 ECHR) and lawfulness (under Article 5 ECHR).
Vik v United Kingdom – (European Court of Human Rights) challenge (under Article 6 ECHR) to the largest non-party costs order ever made by the English Courts, arising from the litigation in Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings Inc and Alexander Vik.
X v United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights) – challenge to the “Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000” (which governs surveillance operations by the UK authorities), based on the right to privacy (Article 8 ECHR) and the right to an effective remedy (Article 13 ECHR).
Consolidated Contractors International Company SAL and Consolidated Contractors (Oil and Gas) Company SAL v United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights) – challenge to actions of the English courts in imposing conditions on the right to pursue appeals in the context of high value commercial litigation, based on the right to a fair hearing (Article 6 ECHR).
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v South African Litigation Centre and Another, Case No: CCT 75/2016 (South African Constitutional Court) – led the international counsel team for Amnesty International in amicus curiae intervention concerning the alleged immunity of President Bashir of Sudan from the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for the crime of genocide.
Maher Arar v John D Ashcroft, Former Attorney General of the United States, et al (United States Supreme Court) – drafted amicus brief in damages claim by a Canadian citizen against US federal officials who allegedly delivered him to Syria for torture and arbitrary detention under the practice known as “extraordinary rendition”.
Hamdan v Rumsfeld et al (United States Supreme Court, March to April 2006) – assisted in drafting amicus brief in test case challenging the legality of Military Commissions established by the United States to try the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Chief Justice of Pakistan v President of Pakistan and others (Pakistan Supreme Court, July 2007) – drafted amicus brief on the principles relating to independence and impartiality of judges in challenge to the suspension from office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Challenge to Law 975/2005 (Colombian Constitutional Court) – drafted amicus brief on whether under international law the State has a “duty to investigate” widespread human rights abuses, in relation to a challenge to Colombian law regulating the demobilization of paramilitaries.
Sudhanshu has substantial experience of shipping and commodities cases in court proceedings and arbitration (including but not limited to GAFTA, FOSFA, FCC, LMAA). His shipping work includes claims relating to Bills of Lading, Charterparties and COAs and has covered issues such as: a hire dispute following an alleged hijacking off the coast of Somalia; damage caused by contaminated bunkers; wrongful arrest; and claims for alleged fraud in relation to the signature of clean B/Ls for steel cargoes. His recent commodities/international trade work has included a trial of claims for non-delivery under a cif contract, claims under bills of exchange and an ongoing GAFTA arbitration concerning alleged late-delivery of cargo. His cases include the following:
Euro-Asian SA v Credit Suisse AG and Others [2016] EWHC 3340 (Comm); [2017] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 287 – claims against an oil trader and a bank for non-delivery of cargo under a contract of sale and letter of indemnity which formed part of a series of carousel transactions, raising issues of alleged fraud. The Court of Appeal judgment is pending.
STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd v Ugland Bulk Transport A.S. (The “LIVANITA”) [2008] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 86 – an unsafe port claim raising an issue as to whether an express safe port warranty in a charterparty applies to a port named in the charter.
‘Interventions in Arbitration Awards by the English Courts’ in Arbitration Resource Book (LexisNexis 2016) (co-author with Belinda McRae).
‘The Role of the Judiciary in International Arbitration’ IBA Business Law International (September 2009) (co-author with William Rowley QC).
‘Genocide and Universal Jurisdiction: A Proposal’ in The Enforcement of International Criminal Law (Aegis Trust 2009).
British Institute of International and Comparative Law: Inaugural Roundtable on the ‘United Nations Guiding Principles in Legal Practice’
International Law Association: Study Group on Business and Human Rights
‘State Immunity in Arbitration and Commercial Litigation’: delivered on various occasions (2017–2018).
‘Bilateral Investment Treaties and Brexit’: CDR Arbitration Symposium (April 2018).
‘Spotlight on Sovereign Wealth Funds: litigating banking and investment disputes under the spectre of corruption and bribery’: joint seminar with HKIAC (June 2017).
Lecturer in public international law at King’s College London
University of Oxford, Exeter College: Bachelor of Civil Law
University of Cambridge, Magdalene College: BA (later MA) in law
Court of Appeal upholds claim against Bank under letter of indemnity
Well regarded in the field of public international law.
A highly rated barrister.
He prepares advice that is very easy to read and gets to the crux of the issues.
He always displays extensive knowledge and is able to assimilate large amounts of information quickly.
A versatile barrister with a strong grounding in international arbitration.