136 United Kingdom
8.4 Is your jurisdiction a party to and has it ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and / or the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States and / or any significant regional treaty for the recognition and enforcement of judgments and / or arbitral awards ?
The UK has signed and ratified both the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ( New York Convention ) and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States ( ICSID Convention ).
Its ratification of the New York Convention is subject to the reciprocity reservation ( meaning it will only recognise and enforce awards made in the territory of another contracting state ).
Following expiry of the Brexit transition period ( on 31 December 2020 ), the Recast Brussels Regulation and the 2007 Lugano Convention ceased to apply to the UK . On 1 January 2021 , the UK acceded to the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements ( Hague Convention ) in its own right . However , the Hague Convention is narrower in scope than the Recast Brussels Regulation or the 2007 Lugano Convention . The UK has also applied to join the 2007 Lugano Convention in its own right ; a decision on its application is awaited .
8.5 Are there any specific difficulties ( whether as a matter of law or practice ) in litigating , or seeking to enforce judgments or awards , against government authorities or the state ?
Neither the UK government nor UK public bodies are immune to litigation in the UK . Both frequently appear as defendants in UK litigation and are often held to account by the national courts .
8.6 Are there examples where foreign investors in the renewable energy sector have successfully obtained domestic judgments or arbitral awards seated in your jurisdiction against government authorities or the state ?
Various judicial review proceedings have been brought against the government to challenge decisions it has made in relation to renewable energy policy and specific projects . These have included challenges to the government ’ s Net Zero Strategy and challenges to decisions to reject applications to participate in the RHI scheme . We have not , however , seen examples of foreign investors in the renewable energy sector obtaining domestic judgments or awards against government authorities or the state in civil actions .
92 Updates and Recent Developments
9.1 Please provide a summary of any recent cases , new legislation and regulations , policy announcements , trends and developments in renewables in your jurisdiction .
The government published its Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper in Q4 2020 , the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan in July 2021 and the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021 , setting out its plan for the energy transition , including developing a smart system framework to build a flexible grid and allocating further funding for offshore wind , hydrogen and other renewables investments – all to drive its net-zero energy system . The Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper are discussed in detail in question 1.3 .
However , the government ’ s commitment to renewables is currently subject to geopolitical strains including following the Russian invasion of Ukraine , changing the debate to whether energy security should be prioritised over energy transition . Furthermore , in July 2022 , the English High Court ruled that the government ’ s Net Zero Strategy was unlawful because it provided insufficient detail on how the target would be met . The court ordered ministers to publish an updated strategy by the end of March 2023 .
The case of R ( on the application of Gravis Solar 1 Ltd ) v Gas and Electricity Markets Authority [ 2021 ] EWHC 490 concerned Ofgem ’ s decision to withdraw a company ’ s Renewable Obligation accreditation . The company in question had provided inaccurate information to obtain the accreditation . The English High Court ruled that , in the circumstances , Ofgem had acted proportionately in deciding to withdraw the accreditation .
In Havant Biogas Ltd & Ors v Gas & Electricity Markets Authority [ 2021 ] EWHC 84 , the claimants succeeded in their judicial review claim to quash a decision by Ofgem not to register them as part of a subsidy scheme promoting renewable energy .
Renewable energy made up 45.5 % of the UK ’ s electricity generation in Q1 2022 , breaking all previous UK quarterly records . If the UK government continues to promote investment in renewable energy technology , we expect this record to be broken repeatedly in the short term . We also expect that electric vehicles , residential solar and battery storage will continue to gain prominence in the UK as a medium for the ongoing transformation of the energy sector .
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Renewable Energy 2023