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The arbitral tribunal, in its award dated 31.07.2012, declared that
the Ministry partially breached the arbitration clause, and ordered the
Ministry to withdraw or limit some of the claims that it had brought
before the Lithuanian court. Gazprom initiated recognition and
enforcement proceedings in Lithuania, in order to enforce the award.
The request of enforcement was denied by the Lithuanian court, based
on the grounds that the award limited the Ministry’s capacity to bring
proceedings before a Lithuanian court, and also denied the national
court the power to determine its own jurisdiction. Therefore, it was
decided that the arbitral tribunal infringed upon the national sover-
eignty of Lithuania, in contradiction with Lithuanian and international
public policy.
Upon the appeal of the decision, the Supreme Court of Lithuania
declared that it was uncertain, based on the case law of the CJEU and
under the Brussels I Regulation, whether recognition and enforcement
of the anti-suit injunction may be refused by the Lithuanian courts, and
addressed to the CJEU three questions on the relevant issue.
Decision of the CJEU
In its decision, the CJEU stated that anti-suit injunctions ordered
by a member state court requiring a party not to continue proceedings
before a court of another member state is contrary to the principle that
every court seized of itself determines, under its applicable laws,
whether it has jurisdiction. The Brussels I Regulation does not, except
in a few limited exceptions, authorize the jurisdiction of a member
state court to be reviewed by another member state court.
Considering the above issue, the CJEU clarified that arbitration
does not fall within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation, since the
latter governs conflicts of jurisdiction between the courts of member
states. Concerning the principle of mutual trust, the CJEU pointed out
that as the order has been made by an arbitral tribunal, and not by a
state court, the principle of mutual trust has not been infringed in the
case at hand.
In its decision, the CJEU stated that the Brussels I Regulation does
not preclude the courts of European Union member states from giving
effect to anti-suit injunctions given by arbitral tribunals. As a result of
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