Dispute Resolution - Zaiwalla & Co

Resolving contentious matters across courts and negotiated settings

Zaiwalla & Co’s dispute resolution practice operates across a wide range of contentious legal contexts, blending litigation, negotiation and formal settlement processes tailored to the objectives of each client. The team is instructed in proceedings that involve commercial, banking, regulatory and public law themes, often where novel legal questions intersect with substantial commercial or geopolitical interests.

Our lawyers bring clarity and resolve to disputes that do not fit traditional labels, drawing on experience that spans High Court and appellate litigation, alternative methodologies where appropriate, and coordinated handling of overlapping legal avenues. The group’s leadership is recognised for securing outcomes in matters that command attention in the UK courts, including challenges to sanctions designations and high-value contractual disputes.

Clients include governments, financial institutions, multinational enterprises and individuals with significant interests, all of whom benefit from partner-led oversight and finely tuned advocacy across the full disputes spectrum.

Bank Mellat v HM Treasury

Zaiwalla & Co successfully challenged the UK Treasury’s designation of Bank Mellat under the UK’s Iran sanctions regime in a landmark Supreme Court judgment. The case, recognised by The Lawyer as one of the top 10 cases of 2013, involved the first closed material procedure ever conducted in the Supreme Court. The Court held that the financial restrictions imposed on the Bank were unlawful and disproportionate. In parallel proceedings before the European Court of Justice, the firm also secured the annulment of corresponding EU sanctions. The case remains a leading authority on proportionality, judicial scrutiny of executive sanctions powers and the conduct of closed hearings in national security litigation.

Zaiwalla & Co acts in Sali Berisha v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Zaiwalla & Co acts for Dr Sali Berisha, former Prime Minister of Albania and leader of the opposition, in a landmark challenge before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission concerning the UK Government’s decision to exclude him from entering the United Kingdom on grounds of alleged criminality and corruption. The case represents the first known challenge to the exclusion of a senior political figure from a friendly foreign state. The proceedings raise fundamental questions regarding the lawfulness and proportionality of executive exclusion powers, the reliance on intelligence evidence in closed material procedures and the extent to which allegations may justify interference with an individual’s rights absent conviction. The challenge also addresses issues of procedural fairness, rationality and diplomatic considerations. The outcome is expected to clarify the scope of ministerial discretion in matters engaging national security, foreign policy and public law principles.

Zaiwalla & Co acts in Sali Berisha v Secretary of State for the Home Department, featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024

From tomorrow, 19 March 2024, the United Kingdom’s Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) will hear a landmark legal challenge by the current Albanian opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Dr Sali Berisha, against the UK Government’s 2022 decision to ban him from entering the United Kingdom on the grounds of alleged criminality and corruption. This […]

“Zaiwalla & Co, being a boutique law firm, offers a service to its clients to solve their legal problems in an efficient and personal way, knowing that all partners, solicitor and paralegals are offering all their knowledge and time to the legal problem that the affected person is having.”

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“Zaiwalla & Co has excellent international experience; the firm's work often has a multi-jurisdictional dimension.”

“A London disputes boutique acting in high-value litigation, arbitration and public international law matters.”

ABC Company Litigation & Dispute Resolution

“The team absolutely punches above its weight- it regularly achieves success against larger firms not just in commodities arbitrations, but in appeals (including all the way up to the Supreme Court).”

“Sarosh Zaiwalla brings valuable experience to litigation; Leigh Crestohl has a strong intellect and good judgment; and Kartik Mittal works hard to achieve the right result for his clients.”

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“The team was readily available and committed to client care. The team took a proactive approach in aiming to achieve the best result for their client.”