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DIFC Court confirms law of the seat and autonomy of DIFC-seated arbitration agreement; Abu Dhabi jurisdiction clause yields; interim injunction granted in deadlocked joint venture (Oswin v Otila)

Published on: 19 November 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert
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Oswin v Otila; and Ondray Claim No ARB 032/2025

What was the background?

This matter arose from a falling-out between Oswin (the Claimant) and Ondray (the Second Defendant) over how to run their joint venture company, Otila (the First Defendant). Oswin owned 49% of the First Defendant’s shares and Ondray 51%. The board could act only by unanimous vote, while shareholder resolutions required a 75% super-majority. When they were unable to agree on management and operations, the company became deadlocked. Their relationship was governed by a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) dated 12 March 2019, which included an arbitration clause calling for DIFC-seated proceedings under the DIFC-LCIA Rules. The Claimant also operated a medical and hazardous waste facility under an Operations and Management Agreement due to expire on 21 August 2025. On 15 August 2025, the Claimant issued a Dispute Notice under clause 21.2 of the JVA, alleging that the Second Defendant was assuming strategic decision-making without proper authority—covering directions on renewal of the O&M Agreement, instruction of external counsel, and threatened alterations to bank accounts and signing powers—in contravention of the JVA’s governance provisions...

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