Update on the appeal hearing in Claim No. FL-2016-000002: The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. v Ukraine

Claim No. FL-2016-000002 / Appeal Ref. 2017/1755 / Supreme Court Ref. 2018/0191 & 2018/0192

This is an update on the appeal hearing in Claim No. FL-2016-000002: The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. v Ukraine.  The claim relates to Ukraine’s default on its U.S.$3,000,000,000 5.00 per cent. Notes due 2015.  The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. acted as Trustee on this Eurobond.

The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. applied for summary judgment for the benefit of the Noteholders (currently the Russian Federation) from the English High Court.  As the High Court judge explained in his judgment: “[s]ummary judgment is the procedure by which the court may decide a claim without a trial, where the claimant can show that the defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim.”  On 29 March 2017, the English High Court concluded that in respect of the four defences put forward by Ukraine, this test was met and awarded summary judgment in favour of The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c.  The judgment can be viewed here.

Subsequently, Ukraine brought an appeal against the English High Court’s decision to grant summary judgment in this matter. This appeal was heard before the Court of Appeal on 22 to 26 January 2018 and a decision handed down on 14 September 2018.  The Court of Appeal concluded that The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. was entitled to summary judgment in respect of three of the four defences, but that one defence would require a trial to determine whether it constituted a defence to the claim and that, for that defence only, summary judgment would not be awarded.  The judgment can be viewed here.

Both parties appealed to the Supreme Court.  The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c  is appealing the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that one of Ukraine’s defence’s requires a trial.  Ukraine is appealing the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. is entitled to summary judgment in respect of Ukraine’s remaining three defences.  There was a hearing of these appeals at the Supreme Court on 9 to 12 December 2019. The Supreme Court scheduled a further hearing for 11 November 2021, for The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c  and Ukraine to make submissions on the relevance to their appeals of the Supreme Court’s separate, recent judgment in the case of Pakistan International Airline Corporation v Times Travel (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 40. 

A case summary, setting out the issues in dispute and the background facts has been agreed between The Law Debenture Trust Corporation p.l.c. and Ukraine, and is available on the Supreme Court’s website.