For the centenary anniversary of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, this year’s ICC New York Conference on International Arbitration convened over 330 international arbitration practitioners, in-house counsel, academics, students, and outside counsel from 36 countries in the heart of New York City. As ICC Secretary General John W. H. Denton highlighted in his opening…

In 2005, Julian Lew spoke of his dream of autonomous arbitration – i.e., arbitration that is free from state interference. The theory of autonomous arbitration has remained a much-debated topic, with the most recent observation (by Ralf Michaels) being that autonomous arbitration does not exist and probably could not exist.1) Ralf Michaels, ‘Is Arbitration Autonomous’…

On 19 June 2020, the new sanctions-related amendments1)Federal Law No. 171-FZ dated 8 June 2020, introducing the amendments (text in Russian). to the Russian Commercial (Arbitrazh) Procedure Code entered into force. The main objective of the law is to protect the interests of Russian natural and legal persons who are unable to effectively resolve their…

As a result of coronavirus, sanctions, for once, have not been grabbing the headlines. Unlike the media, the Russian legislative bodies have recently shown keen interest in the topic of sanctions as they have adopted a draft law from last year granting persons and companies affected by the sanctions against Russia with a right to…

In addition to the serious implications for people’s health and public healthcare services, the COVID-19 pandemic also imposes challenges for the administration of justice.   Increasing Demand for Amicable Methods of Dispute Resolution The current crisis creates a need for business and its legal representatives to consider carefully appropriate and alternative options for the efficient,…

As UNCITRAL Working Group III is proceeding to address concrete proposals to reform treaty-based investor-state arbitration, the future of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is at a historic juncture. Reform proposals include both incremental changes to investor-state arbitration and proposals for further institutionalization, such as the call of the European Union (EU) to establish a Multilateral…