Two Parties – Several Contracts: AFour-Step Method for Assessing ArbitralTribunals’ Jurisdiction Post Belgor

Abstract

A contractual relationship between two commercial parties often consists of multiple contracts that are more or less connected to each other. In such a multi-contract context, it may happen that only one contract (typically the main contract) contains an arbitration clause while the other contracts (successive or ancillary) either lack arbitration clauses or contain other or somewhat different dispute resolution mechanisms. If a dispute arises regarding any of the other contracts, the arbitral tribunal will often have to determine whether such dispute is covered by the arbitration clause in the main contract. 
         In this chapter, a proposed four-step method for determining arbitral tribunals’ jurisdiction in multi-contract contexts under Swedish law is presented. By presenting this method, the ambition is to answer the question of under what circumstances an arbitration clause in one contract may cover disputes regarding another contract between the same parties.
         The proposed method addresses the implications from the most recent Swedish precedent on assessing arbitral tribunals’ jurisdiction under Swedish law  
– Belgorkhimprom v. Koca (NJA 2019 p. 171, Belgor).