Paul Kinninmont

Commercial arbitration

• LCIA Arbitration: c.$2.8 billion arbitration representing Ziraat Bankası A.S. over claims arising from joint venture shareholder documentation controlling the largest telecommunications company in Türkiye, Turkcell İletişim
• SAC Arbitration: c.€6 million dispute arising from contractual obligations pertaining to ammonium nitrate shipments
• LCIA Arbitration: Claims totalling c.$112 million against a Latin American oil exploration subsidiary through joint venture documentation
• ICC Arbitration: $100+ million dispute involving Swiss and Russian entities in the coal and coal transportation sectors
• LCIA Arbitration: Ensuring client’s protection in a c.$1.5 billion dollar arbitration involving client’s borrower arising from non-compliance with a previous award
• ICC Arbitration: c.$160 million dispute relating to a construction project in the Middle East
• ICC arbitration: c.£4 million pound dispute for a renewables company operating in South East Asia
• BVI Court: Resisting enforcement of an ICC award, including appeals to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and the Privy Council
• English Court: Advising on recognition and enforcement of an UNCITRAL award
• Advising on bespoke arbitration agreements on large projects and transactions that could give rise to multi-party arbitrations.
  Advising on various pre-arbitration aspects, including:
  • Asset location and award enforceability
  • Pre-conditions in multi-tiered arbitration agreements
  • Substantive merits
  • Claim admissibility
  • Tribunal jurisdiction
  • Expedition of Tribunal appointment
  • Emergency arbitrator appointment
  • Interim court relief pending Tribunal appointment

Investment arbitration

• Karkey v Pakistan (CL-2018-000421): Resisting recognition of a c.$900 million ICSID award derived from a power-related investment obtained through corruption
• Advising on ad hoc investment treaty arbitration claims by investors relating to unlawful expropriation of mining licences, discriminatory treatment and denial of justice
• Advising on ICSID investment treaty arbitration claims by investors relating to unlawful expropriation of retail assets, unfair and unequitable treatment and full protection and security
• Advising on the structuring of several transactions and projects to mitigate political risk and/or avail investors, sponsors or lenders of investment treaty protections (e.g. an LNG project in Papua New Guinea)
• Applications for funding and/or insurance in relation to investment arbitrations
• Advising on various pre-arbitration aspects, including:
  • Asset location and award enforceability
  • Pre-conditions in multi-tiered arbitration agreements
  • Substantive merits
  • Claim admissibility
  • Tribunal jurisdiction
  • Sovereign immunity

As arbitrator

• 4 CIArb awards
• 2 awards rendered under the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022
• 11 ABTA awards
• Extensive experience of procedural matters, including:
  • Joinder
  • Consolidation
  • Party non-participation
  • Claim admissibility issues
  • Evidence admissibility issues.

Recent speaking engagements

Recent representative speaking engagements include:

• ‘International Arbitration in Ghana: Trends and Opportunities’, CIArb London Branch, May 2023
• ‘Dissenting Opinions in Arbitration Awards’, Hungarian Arbitration Association, Budapest, May 2023
• ‘Sovereign Immunity: Practical Issues’, English Law Day, Istanbul, March 2023
• ‘Technology in Arbitration’, CIArb European Branch, Paris, February 2023
• ‘Energy and Extraction: Current Trends and Likely Developments’, CIArb London Branch, January 2023
• ‘Current Trends in African Arbitration’, ICC Africa Conference, June 2022
• ‘Business and Human Rights’, Royal Holloway Rights and Freedoms Conference, April 2022

Paul volunteers at legal clinics and as arbitrator at several moots, including the Vis Moot.

• ICC arbitration in the solar sector, relating to polysilicon rod production and related matters.
• Advising a renewables technology company on contractual repudiation issues, commencing an ICC arbitration seated in Singapore and related commercial negotiations.

• Competition Appeal Tribunal: Margin squeeze claim against dominant market incumbents totalling c.£10+ million (first order and second order effects)
• Representing Visa Inc defending competition claims relating to multi-lateral interchange fees. Reported cases include:
  Arcadia and others v Visa [2014] EWHC 4064: successful summary judgment on limitation issues
• Arcadia and others v Visa [2015] EWCA Civ 883: Successful appeal on limitation issues
• Advising Visa Inc on competition investigations, decisions and policies and the UK and EU level, as well as other aspects of the MIF litigation
• Competition audit for Coca Cola’s UK operations.
  Previously seconded to RBS to advise on certain markets and market definitions
• Paul spent six months on secondment in Brussels, focusing on EU competition disputes, merger clearances and competition policy

• Court of Appeal: Issues of legal privilege and access to justice ([2022] EWCA Civ 1103)
• High Court: Claims against individuals in fraud, contract and equity totalling c.£15 million; related negotiations and interim applications
• London Circuit Commercial Court: Claims against individuals in contract, fraud, deceit and restitution totalling c.£3 million [2021] EWHC 3409 (Comm); related injunctive relief and costs proceedings
• High Court: Claims and counterclaims relating to unpaid personal and inter-group loans (BL-2019-000160)
• High Court: Success in a High Court trial over ownership of a London property for an Emirati billionaire (Alya’a Ebrahim Naser El Theeb v Alya’a Ebrahim Abdallah Alkaz (unreported))
• High Court: Defending judgment enforcement proceedings in respect of a charging order ([2011] EWHC 57)
• Appeal: Appeal relating to the potential sale of a yacht to satisfy a judgment debt ([2011] EWHC 3473)
• Advising regularly on contractual and regulatory risks and issues – e.g. post-transaction warranties
• Advising regularly on pre-action correspondence and settlement, recently for instance in a case involving real estate investment funds and another involving carbon capture companies

• Defended Rabobank during investigations into its LIBOR submissions across several jurisdictions.
• Defended a large bank following inquiries by regulators concerning possible market abuse and competition issues arising from certain bond trading.
• As arbitrator, deciding several disputes relating to unpaid loans.
• Previously seconded to RBS to advise on certain markets and market definitions.
• Advising on issues arising from international sanctions, including against Iran (US sanctions versus the EU Blocking Regulation), Russia and Sudan.

• Defended claims against a Qatari state-owned entity owner by a turnkey contractor in an ICC arbitration totalling c.$160 million relating to a plant construction.
• Advising on LCIA claims worth over $100 million relating to a oil exploration project in Latin America.
• Advising on issues arising from ongoing projects, including change order claims, contractual renegotiations, supply chain difficulties, contractual risk, political risk, conflicts of laws and international sanctions.

• Obtained search orders to prevent employees deploying intellectual property against former employers (MSCI Inc v Axioma Inc (sealed file)).
• Various freezing order applications, some leading to undertakings in lieu.
• Advising on other injunction applications include evidence preservation, Norwich Pharmacal and negative injunctions preventing certain transactions.

• Representing the administrators of an insolvent Respondent in an ICC arbitration in the green transport sector.
• Representing the co-ordinating committee of junior lenders in the complex c.$1.6 billion restructuring of General Healthcare Group.
• Resisting a receiver application in the BVI High Court over assets to be used to pay an arbitration award debt.
• Advising disenfranchised subordinated creditors in a multi-jurisdictional restructuring in the context of a COMI shift.

• Advising on English law issues in ongoing Turkish proceedings in respect of unpaid debts arising from a multi-million dollar bond issuance.
• Advising on resisting the recognition and enforcement of a Dubai court judgment in London.
• LCIA claims regarding letters of credit and shipment of scrap metal from Venezuela to Türkiye.
• Advising on seizure and repatriation of taxpayer assets expropriated by former ministers of a Central Asian government.
• Advising on location, seizure and repatriation of bank deposit holder monies expropriated by former bankers and politicians in an Eastern European country.
• Advising on substantive, regulatory and privilege aspects of prospective simultaneous proceedings in England and Tanzania.
• Advising on issues arising from termination of a pan-African consultancy services agreement.
• Several mediations, bilateral and multilateral negotiations to settle disputes early and maintain good commercial relationships.

• Defended a small research company in London seated LCIA proceedings against a large pharmaceutical company trying to restrict its operation in certain markets.
• Advising a Swiss pharmaceutical company on its expansion into an African jurisdiction.
• Advising an international pharmaceutical company on various English law issues arising from its UK operations.

• Claims against an international computer hardware provider for fraudulent misrepresentation, negligence and breaches of contract.
• Settling claims between several NHS trusts and outsourced software providers over service failures, contractual breaches and issues relating to tender and procurement.
• Settling claims over licensing and royalties arising from the operation of an immersive 3D theatre.
• Claims against international software companies involving intellectual property, consulting, deceit, breach of contract and misrepresentation.
• Paul has published and regularly speaks on the use of technology in international arbitration, including related topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) and diversity.

• SAC Arbitration arising from ammonium nitrate shipments.
• ICC arbitration relating to the transportation of commodities by rail and sea
• Advising the Republic of Panama in its ITLOS arbitration dispute against the Republic of Guinea-Bissau over the Virginia G.
• Advising on various aircraft leases and financings.
• Competition claims in the railway industry against market incumbents.
• Settlement of claims and counterclaims pertaining to commodity shipments allegedly rendered impossible by force majeure worth c.$2 million.