Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Brexit, Brussels Regulation, UK

(MDisputes)/ /4 Comments

The cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy famously features a “Don’t Panic” button. In the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, some English law firms posted reassuring articles on the possible effects a vote to leave would have for dispute resolution in London. “Don’t panic” seemed to be a common theme. Yet…

ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, New York Convention, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

(Arnold & Porter)/ /Leave a comment

Favorable ICSID awards are undoubtedly a valuable commodity.  By virtue of the ICSID Convention, which features 153 Contracting States, such awards are automatically enforceable in nearly 80% of countries around the world.  But enforcement of an award is only half of the equation; award holders must also navigate the separate, but equally important, task of executing the…

Arbitration, Dispute, Dispute Resolution Boards, Latin America, Mediation

(Dispute Resolution Board Foundation)/ /Leave a comment

In May 2016, DRBF gathered in Santiago, Chile, for its annual international conference. The location is testimony to the rising demand and dispute boards practice in the region. Having served for some years in the management of our organization, it is observable that the purpose of the concept proves to be successfully established. Indeed, the…

Fair and Equitable Treatment, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Legitimate Expectations, Venezuela

(University of Vienna, Faculty of Law, Section for International Law and International Relations )/ /Leave a comment

The epitome – and uncontroversial part – of the legitimate expectations doctrine is that a sovereign’s failure to live up to its promises made towards an investor who relied on such promise to make an investment – or to continue an investment – is a breach of the fair and equitable treatment standard. Practice has,…

Canada, Egypt, Free Trade Agreements, ICSID Arbitration, NAFTA, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership

/ /2 Comments

On June 6, 2016, the ICSID Secretary General registered a request for arbitration in Global Telecom Holding (GTH) v. Canada. Although the text of the arbitral claim is not yet public, it appears likely that the dispute relates to GTH’s involvement (or attempted involvement) in Canada’s wireless telecommunications sector. This claim may be historic for…

NAFTA, Trans-Pacific Partnership, VCLT

(Allende & Brea)/ /Leave a comment

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) is a state-of-the-art multi regional trade agreement that, once ratified, will transform the scenario of international trade and arbitration for the next century. The TPP will have an impact on the rules governing global investment, influencing future and current negotiations of Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”) and Free Trade Agreements (“FTAs”). It…

Dubai, Enforcement

(Al Tamimi & Company)/ /Leave a comment

In recent years, arbitration in the UAE has experienced significant growth among domestic and international users. While there is undoubtedly a positive trend in the use of arbitration as a mechanism to resolve disputes in the UAE, one of the main criticisms is the uncertainty around enforcement of both domestic and international awards, despite the…

India

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YIAG

Professor Pieter Sanders in 1999 famously asked “Quo Vadis Arbitration”? (Where do you go Arbitration?). In the Indian context this question is particularly relevant in light of the ever-fluctuating framework applicable to arbitrations seated in India. In this post, I will deal with one aspect of this inconsistency, namely the question of arbitrability. The Indian…

Journal of International Arbitration

(WilmerHale & Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

Volume 33 Issue 3 contains: ARTICLES SECTION Richard HAPP & Sebastian WUSCHKA, Horror Vacui: Or Why Investment Treaties Should Apply to Illegally Annexed Territories Abstract: The 2014 Crimea crisis, in addition to issues of general international law, triggered questions relating to international investment law and arbitration. One of these is to what extent a state’s…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Investment Arbitration, Multiple parties, SCC Rules, Security for Costs

(Climate Change Counsel)/ /Leave a comment

As part of its centenary celebrations in January 2017, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (“SCC”) will be launching updated rules. Drafts of the revised SCC Arbitration Rules and Rules for Expedited Arbitrations are now available on the SCC website. A public hearing was held in Stockholm on June 9 to discuss the…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Clause Incorporated by Reference, Sport arbitration

, (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Claudia Pechstein, 44, is a well-known speed skater – she has won 60 medals at international championships and at the Olympics since 1992. However, the media coverage on her seven year juridical battle against a two year suspension imposed on her for a disputed doping rules violation has put her into the spotlight even more…

Admissibility, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /2 Comments

The recently published Philipp Morris v Australia award concerning Australia’s plain packaging of cigarettes legislation contains important indications regarding the conditions for the timely structuring of investments in order to be able to initiate investment arbitration proceedings. Background of the case Philip Morris International (PMI), a company incorporated in New York, produces cigarettes and owns…

Annulment, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Switzerland, Uncategorized

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE)/ /Leave a comment

Switzerland is a global hub for commodity traders, and therefore also a significant jurisdiction for disputes arising in the commodities sector. A recent decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Decision 5A_441/2015 of 4 February 2016 (ASA Bull. 2/2016)) addresses important issues relating to commodity sales contracts and Swiss enforcement proceedings. The case involved arbitral proceedings…

ICC Rules, Partial award, Preliminary Ruling, Procedure

(Schoenherr) and / /2 Comments
Schoenherr

Time and cost efficiency is the most commonly praised argument in favor of arbitration as opposed to state court litigation. The exchanges within the arbitral community as regards strategies to streamline arbitral proceedings in an effort to increase their efficiency are abundant. The issue, quite apparently, ranks high on the hot topic lists of counsel…

Arbitration Act, Asia, China, National Arbitration Laws, Shanghai

(Zhong Lun)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction As noted this firm’s previous post on the Chaolaixinsheng case (see Cao Lijun & Lu Leilei, To Be or Not to Be? The Practical Implications of Choosing Foreign Arbitration for Domestic Contracts, 6 March 2015), the Supreme People’s Court of China (the SPC) expressly ruled that foreign arbitral awards made in relation to purely…

DIFC, Dubai, Enforcement, Middle East, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /1 Comment

On 15 May 2016, the UAE Ministry of Justice and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts, the courts of the newly established common law free zone carved out of the heart of Abu Dhabi (see my previous reporting here), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding concerning cooperation in legal and judicial matters with immediate…

Annulment, Arbitral Award, Ecuador, Uncategorized

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Following up on a recent post by Daniela Palacios on 24 May 2016 titled “Emelec vs Canal Uno: How Many Bites Can the Apple Handle?”, this article explores: (i) Ecuadorian courts’ historic approach to the availability of cassation (recurso de casación) against decisions that resolve annulment proceedings of arbitral awards, (ii) the change of approach…

ASEAN, Asia, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Trans-Pacific Partnership

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The Asian economy is considered an engine of global economic growth, accounting for almost two-thirds of forecasted global economic growth for 2016.1)“Asia: Growth Remains Strong, Expected to Ease Only Modesty”, International Monetary Fund Survey Magazine, 3 May 2016, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2016/CAR050316B.htm. Over the last decade, the flows of foreign investment into and out of Asia have consistently…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, DIFC, Domestic Courts, Dubai, Enforcement, Middle East, UAE

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

According to a recent announcement (see the official DIAC website at https://www.dubaichamber.com/en/news/dubai-international-arbitration-centre-opens-an-office-in-difc), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, widely known by its acronym as the “DIAC”, is set to open a branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre, in shorthand the “DIFC”. This anticipated move is no doubt a promotional exercise to address concerns that the…

Due process, England, English Law

(Hughes Hubbard LLP)/ /2 Comments

A few months ago, Queen Mary University of London and White & Case released their third International Arbitration Survey entitled “Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration”.  One of the many interesting findings of this survey is the apparent growing concern of some users of arbitration with what can be termed “due process paranoia”. Due process…

DIFC, Maritime Arbitration, Middle East

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

On 18 April 2016, following earlier anticipation (see my blog here), the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre, in shorthand “EMAC”, was finally established by virtue of a decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai (see Decree No. 14 of 2016 establishing the Emirates Centre…

Dual Nationals, Investment Arbitration, Investor, ITA

(Covington and Burling LLP)/ /Leave a comment

YAI TALKS#, a new conversation series launched by the ITA Young Arbitrators Initiative (YAI) under the leadership of YAI chair Montserrat Manzano (Von Wobeser y Sierra, Mexico City) and vice chair Silvia Marchili (King & Spalding, Houston), kicked off on May 12 in Washington, D.C., with a debate on claims by dual nationals against countries…

Women in arbitration

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ArbitralWomen

By Mirèze Philippe, Special Counsel at the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and Founding Co-President ArbitralWomen The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s institution. The launch of the Equal Representation in Arbitration…

ADR, Mediation

(Pepperdine University School of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The mounting global preoccupation with mediation, reflected in a growing array of institutions, programs, laws and regulations; an international “evangelical” movement; and mounting impetus for an international convention promoting the recognition and enforcement of mediated settlement agreements; should be accompanied by collective reflection, dialogue and discernment regarding present trends. These were the themes of my…