Anti-suit injunctions are orders that prevent a litigant from initiating (or continuing) proceedings before a specific judicial authority. When an arbitration agreement exists between two or more parties, anti-suit injunctions have historically been used in common law jurisdictions as a means to prevent the parties from attempting to evade the jurisdiction of arbitrators by resorting to ordinary courts.
In Spain, it is reasonable to regard anti-suit injunctions as a distinct form of precautionary measure. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled against judicial bodies issuing anti-suit injunctions in favor of arbitration. However, it cannot be ruled out that arbitral tribunals might adopt them under Spanish law, as they are authorized by the Arbitration Act to adopt precautionary measures.
In this context, anti-suit injunctions would face
greater challenges in Spain than in common law jurisdictions. Arbitral
tribunals considering the adoption of these measures would need to conduct a
rigorous and thorough analysis. In most cases, even if admissible, anti-suit
injunctions would likely be considered inappropriate in Spain.