The term environmental, social and governance (ESG) was coined almost 20 years ago in a landmark report entitled ‘Who Cares Wins,’ which was the result of a joint initiative of financial institutions invited by the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to develop guidelines and recommendations on how to better integrate ESG issues in asset…

On 7 March 2023, Paul Friedland (Partner, White & Case LLP) delivered the 2023 Proskauer Lecture on International Arbitration at the New York offices of Proskauer Rose LLP.  Founded in 2013, the Proskauer Lecture provides an annual public forum to expand the horizons of international arbitration through the contributions of leading thinkers and practitioners.  Peter…

As arbitration lawyers, we often reflect on the power of the written word, but rarely do we consider the design’s role in emulating the tone of the word or sentence. With the same emphasis as we strive not to talk in a monotone at a hearing, we should strive to give our written submission the…

Since 2020 insolvency activity in Spain slowed down because of the moratorium declared by the Spanish government in the wake of Covid-19, under which the obligation to file for insolvency was suspended until 30 June 2022. Perhaps unsurprisingly, official statistics for the third quarter of 2022 showed a dramatic increase in the insolvency declarations within…

The past year has seen a variety of exogenous impacts to global energy markets: from the sanctions flowing from Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, to the supply chain aftershocks of the COVID Pandemic, to hiccups in the commercial and government policy implementations of the global Energy Transition. International arbitration too has seen its share…

On January 13, 2023 the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University hosted the 5th annual Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference.  Like previous iterations of this conference, the innovative program featured top lawyers, internationally recognized mediators, academics, and leaders of arbitration institutions discussing timely issues in international dispute resolution. This year’s conference…

In October 2022, the ICC launched its new digital case management platform, ICC Case Connect. Although not mandatory, parties are encouraged to use this new system, which is touted as a platform that “facilitates communication and document-sharing and offers a secure, dedicated, online space in which all case documents and information are centralised and easily…

2022 was undoubtedly the most challenging year in the history of independent Ukraine. The international implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine, including economic sanctions and global energy and food crises, have been felt even in the most remote corners of the globe. Unsurprisingly, the war also stalled the majority of investment arbitrations involving Ukraine, affecting…

The dispute resolution landscape in Japan is almost unrecognisable from the position 20 years ago.  In that time, Japan has evolved into a significant market for cross-border contentious legal matters.  Sophisticated Japanese corporations with significant overseas business are comfortable using international arbitration and mediation as methods of dispute resolution. 86% of the case load of…

As most arbitration laws, the Brazilian Arbitration Act (Law n. 9307/1996; “BAL”) establishes a short deadline for any interested party to seek annulment of an arbitral award in court. The interested party has a 90-day period as from (i) notice of the partial or final arbitral award or (ii) the decision on a motion for clarification…

The history of arbitration in the Principality of Andorra began with two arbitration procedures in the years 1278 and 1288 which led to the signing, between the Bishop of Urgell and the Earl of Foix, of the Paréages which created the Principality. Despite this historical background and the fact that arbitration has been conducted in…

On 5 May 2022, Young ITF hosted its launch event, covering a debate on the motion that “[t]his House believes that greater use of Amicus briefs will address the legitimacy crisis that [Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (“ISDS”)] is facing”. The selection of this topic seemed reasonable as the legitimacy crisis of ISDS particularly affects the upcoming generation of…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Roger P. Alford, Crina Baltag, Matthew E.K. Hall and Monique Sasson, Empirical Analysis of National Courts Vacatur and Enforcement of International Commercial Arbitration Awards The empirical research in this article relies on a…

On June 6, 2022, the Journal of International Arbitration Special Issue on Empirical Work in Commercial Arbitration, was released, edited by Dr Monique Sasson, Dr Crina Baltag, Roger P. Alford, Matthew E.K. Hall, under the general editorship of Prof. Dr Maxi Scherer. The Special Issue also includes articles authored by Prof. Loukas Mistelis, Prof. Dr…

On 18 March 2022, academics and arbitration practitioners convened in Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) for an international conference dedicated to cutting-edge topics related to the intersection of international arbitration and sustainable development. This post outlines some of the highlights of a rich discussion that was part of a broader effort to engage the legal and…

The General Assembly of the Civil Chambers of Turkish Court of Cassation (“Court”) rendered a controversial decision on 21 December 2021 with No. K.2021/1710 (“Decision”). The Decision provides that, notwithstanding a valid arbitration agreement, Turkish courts, not arbitrators, shall have jurisdiction to determine whether an alleged debtor, against whom a bankruptcy proceeding has been initiated,…

Organized by the Georgetown International Arbitration Society and the Georgetown Brazilian Law Association, in cooperation with the Arbitration Channel, the I Georgetown Brazilian Arbitration Day took place on April 8, 2022. The first edition of the conference discussed some of the main topics of interest in international arbitration as well as the latest developments in…

State parties’ “mutual actions” over a treaty – including interventions such as interpretation, modification and termination – have flourished in recent investment treaty practice. This trend brings to the fore the question of whether there are any limits to such actions, particularly due to the involvement of non-State entities, such as investors and arbitral tribunals….

In 2021, ICSID conducted an extensive survey of dispute resolution clauses in bilateral investment treaties (BITs), free trade agreements (FTAs) and other treaties (including model treaties). The data set comprised more than 900 treaties, from which nearly 350 clauses were identified for closer analysis. The overarching goal of the survey was to see to what…

Arbitration of commercial disputes is a common practice in Turkey, especially for those with an international element. The same, however, cannot be said for corporate law disputes, i.e. intra-corporate claims based on or concerning statutory rights, articles of association (“AoA”) or corporate resolutions. This has been the case due to a couple of judgments rendered…

The recent adoption of Decree No. 34/2021 (see Dubai Government Decree No. 34 of 2021, which entered into force with effect from 20 September 2021) provides for the consolidation of local arbitration centers into a single institution, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre 2.0 (DIAC 2.0). Some perspectives on Decree No. 34/2021 have already been shared…

As the climate crisis has intensified, much has been said about the roles that arbitration can play in the collective global response – including during the recent BVI Arbitration Week, which coincided with the Glasgow climate conference. Arbitration has been utilised as a tool for resolving disputes as market mechanisms have developed to deliver greenhouse…

“If they can’t do it in California, it can’t be done anywhere.”  – Novelist Taylor Caldwell   From its sunlit beaches to its fog-spangled hills, California hosts the world’s fifth largest economy, boasting among its accomplishments Hollywood entertainment, Silicon Valley technology, and Central Valley agricultural produce. In addition to its strong trade ties within the…

Nearly 30 years have passed since world leaders signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”), agreeing to combat “dangerous human interference with the climate system.” For many of those years, nobody seemed to take that commitment very seriously. But things look different now: climate law has hit its stride. At COP26 in November…