As we settle in to enjoy the delights of the season and mark the end of another calendar year, we might ponder: What if Charles Dickins’ Ghost of Christmas Present went back to visit the international arbitration practitioners of 1995? The specter’s account of international arbitration today would certainly be unbelievable to our professional predecessors…
Amir Matar Associate, Sarie El Din & Partners Legal Advisors & Founding member of the Arab Legal Forum On 12 November, fifteen of the foremost arbitration specialists in the world met in Cairo to discuss the future of arbitration in the Euro-Mediterranean area (comprising, collectively, the European Union (EU) and Middle East and North African (MENA)…
by Esmé Shirlow (Assistant Editor for Australia & New Zealand) Gabriele Ruscalla has recently observed that “transparency has become a fundamental principle in international adjudication”. The transparency paradigms governing different types of international adjudication are, however, far from uniform. Discussions of transparency in international arbitration typically begin, for example, from a distinction between commercial and investment treaty disputes. As Cristoffer Nyegaard Mollestad explains…
As Mariel Dimsey has observed, a key challenge posed by investment treaties is that – at the point of ratification – they expose States to arbitrations of ‘as-yet-unknown scope and against as-yet-unknown claimants’. Gus van Harten and Martin Loughlin argue that this feature differentiates investment disputes from those heard in other fora, transforming investment disputes into something akin to ‘domestic judicial review of state conduct’….
The Swiss Arbitration Association (“ASA”) has called recently for the creation of a transnational body, the Global Arbitration Ethics Council, to whom matters of alleged unethical conduct would be referred. This entity would provide a truly global solution to a global problem and overcome one of the main criticisms levelled against both the IBA Guidelines…
The New York Times has just published a three-part series of investigative articles about arbitration practice in the United States, casting it as machine of repeat-players used by large companies to deprive ordinary citizens of access to justice. It is a pity the writers did not look deeper under the hood of that machine. Had…
The results of the 2015 Queen Mary and White & Case International Arbitration Survey were launched on 6 October 2015. Titled “Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration”, the survey seeks to explore how recent efforts to improve international arbitration are faring, and the arbitration community’s assessment of other innovations to the arbitral process. Views were…
Fellow Kluwer arbitration blogger, Duarte Henriques, recently started a Facebook page dedicated to discussing topical issues in international arbitration. The page regularly features “memes” all aspects of the practice. Below are a few. When international arbitration meets social media, no one is spared. – – – – – – – – – – – –…
On 19 October 2015, the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission published a Consultation Paper recommending that third party funding should be permitted for arbitrations in Hong Kong. The Paper invites public comment on the recommendation, and how third party funding should be adopted in Hong Kong. A link to the paper can be found here….
Under sec 1 of the RF Law on International Commercial Arbitration 5338-1 of 07.07.1993, disputes arising from civil, including corporate, relationships may be referred to international commercial arbitration, unless otherwise provided by law. However, there is no such restriction provided. In some cases, such as Novolipetsk Still Mill (NLMK) v. Nikolay Maksimov (Decrees of the…
The 2015 International Arbitration Survey is out. Subtitled “Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration,” the most recent effort by Queen Mary / White & Case has a lot to say about efforts to date to improve the practice and what more can be done. The survey’s methodology and sample size have themselves been the subject…
Registration is now CLOSED for Kluwer Arbitration London 2015, but with less than a week to go, I would like to offer all Blog readers an opportunity to submit a QUESTION for our Q&A Author Panel. I know that sadly not all readers are able to attend the live event at Tower Hill next week, but I’m delighted to announce that…
While the focus of the debate concerning free trade and investment agreements in Europe has been almost exclusively on the transatlantic deals with the US (TTIP) and Canada (CETA), there is far more going on in Asia with potentially much more at stake. Indeed, nothing less than a very competitive race is going on between…
The Vienna International Arbitration Centre turns 40 today. VIAC was created four decades ago to serve the needs of users engaged in commerce between East and West countries. Parties were facing the problem of arbitration clauses that were defective because they relied on the background of their countries, and were not enforceable for purposes of…
The Report from the inquiry of the Australian Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee into Australian treaty-making practices comes at a time when increasing pressure is being placed upon governments to adopt more transparent and consultative approaches to the negotiation of trade and investment treaties. The report, titled “Blind Agreement: Reforming Australia’s Treaty-Making…
We are delighted to announce that Wolters Kluwer’s 2nd arbitration event, Kluwer Arbitration London, is now open for registration. The half-day (morning) event, taking pace at the Hotel Novotel London Tower Bridge on Wednesday 14 October, is free of charge. Places are limited and offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. WHO SHOULD ATTEND – arbitration practitioners,…
By Order of 11 May 2015 (unpublished) in Case No. ARB 005/2014 – A v. B, Justice Sir David Steel of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance dismissed an application made by an award debtor to set aside an order granted by the DIFC Court on 8 January 2015 (unpublished) for…
Dear Readers, you may have noticed the dearth of recent posts, for which we make no excuses. It is late summer for the northern hemisphere contributors. At this point, most of us are lingering poolside at the Kluwer International Arbitration Resort and Amusement Park, sipping procedural cocktails in the waning light as the children take…
In the recent case Integral Petroleum SA v Melars Group Ltd [2015] EWHC 1893 (Comm) arbitrator Mr W Laurence Craig was asked to decide a dispute involving three companies: Integral Petroleum SA (“Integral” or “Claimant”), Melars Group Ltd (“Melars” or “Respondent”) and Dartex Trade Ltd (“Dartex”). By a contract signed on 14 December 2011 (the “December…
On 15 July 2015, the Supreme People’s Court (the “SPC”) of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) issued its long-awaited notice addressing issues relating to the validity of arbitration agreements and the enforceability of arbitral awards involving China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) and its former South China and Shanghai sub-commissions. The…
The phenomenon of “price review” and “price reopener” disputes – whereby a party seeks to adjust the pricing basis under an existing long term gas sales contract – has for a number of years been the subject of lively discussion in energy and arbitration circles. As participants at the GAR Live Energy Disputes event (held…
On of the most important developments this year in Latin America is the Chilean Act N°20.848, which sets forth a new framework for foreign investment in Chile (hereinafter, the “ New Foreign Investment Act” or the “Act”), replacing the regime contained in the Decree Law N°600 of 1974 (hereinafter, the “DL 600”). According to the…
Summary In the three years since the 2012 declaration of independence by CIETAC’s former Shanghai and Shenzhen sub-commissions, affected parties have faced an uncertain and unpredictable arbitration process in Mainland China. In a recent judicial interpretation (the Reply), however, the PRC Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has clarified the jurisdictional uncertainties caused by the split. Background…
On the 24th of June, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (‘UNCTAD’) launched its 2015 World Investment Report. The Report, titled “Reforming International Investment Governance”, is the 25th in the yearly series from the UN body. As for previous years, the 2015 Report provides a statistical summary of the prior year’s foreign direct…
