Cost allocation mechanisms, Counsel, Counsel conduct, Emergency Arbitrator, International arbitration

(Clifford Chance LLP)/ /2 Comments

This was the title of one of four sessions comprising the dispute resolution module held as part of the fifth Institute for Energy Law (IEL) and IBA Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL) International Oil and Gas conference, which took place in London on 3-5 June 2015. The dispute resolution module…

Arbitration Act, Brazil, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Set aside an arbitral award, Supplementary Award

(Tribe Arbitration and St Mary's University)/ /Leave a comment

On 27 July 2015 the Bill amending to the Brazilian Arbitration Law will come into force, introducing significant changes in the arbitration legal framework, which, according to the stated purpose of the amendments, aim at improving the original Brazilian Arbitration Law, enacted in 1996. The amendments attempt to consolidate established practices as well as settling…

Arbitrability, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, European Law

(Allen & Overy LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

Accentuate Ltd v. ASIGRA Inc. [2009] EWHC 2655; Fern Computer Consultancy Ltd v Intergraph Cadworx & Analysis Solutions Inc [2014] EWHC 2908 (Ch) In 2009, a senior libel judge sitting in the English High Court held that an arbitration agreement was “null and void” or “inoperative” because it purported to apply a foreign law which…

Brazil, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

(University of California, Berkeley)/ /Leave a comment

On May 26, 2015, Brazil signed its third investment treaty of 2015 with Mexico. Given the agreements previously signed with Angola and Mozambique, this certainly comes as a confirmation of a new Brazilian attitude towards the regulation of foreign investment. The instrument mostly follows the same model used for the previous two: a Cooperation and…

Interim Award, Singapore

(Clyde & Co. LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Clyde & Co.

Introduction As reported by Clyde & Co for the Kluwer Arbitration Blog on 12 January 2015, the Singapore High Court released its decision in PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) TBK v CRW Joint Operation (Indonesia) [2014] SGHC 146 relating to PT Perusahaan Gas’ (PGN) unsuccessful appeal of an interim arbitral award made in favour of…

Arbitration, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Italy, Russia

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

No doubt that the last three years have been quite busy for the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and for the Energy Charter Conference. The number of investor-state arbitration cases under Article 26 of the ECT doubled in this time span, going from thirty known cases to sixty-eight (as reported on the website of the Energy…

Arbitral Award, Ecuador, Investor, Oil & Gas, Permanent Court of Arbitration

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /1 Comment

The controversial dispute between the Ecuadorian government and the multinational corporation Chevron arose from the operations undertaken by Texpet –a subsidiary of Texaco at that time- on the country’s Amazon region during the eighties. Texpet was the operator undertaking the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in association with Petroecuador, formerly CEPE, the state-owned oil company…

Ad hoc arbitration, ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, Thailand

(DLA Piper)/ /Leave a comment

Ad hoc arbitration, in which the proceedings are administered by the disputing parties, their counsel and the arbitral tribunal without the involvement of an arbitral institution, can perhaps seem a daunting prospect in any jurisdiction. Thailand has arbitral institutions on hand to provide their services — including the well-established Thai Arbitration Institute (“TAI“) and the…

Arbitral seat, Asia-Pacific, Cambodia, International arbitration, National Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Kingdom of Cambodia

(Fangda Partners)/ /1 Comment

The National Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Kingdom of Cambodia (“NCAC”) was conceived in 2006, when Cambodia’s Commercial Arbitration Law entered into force. The initiative to create the centre surfaced as a part of Cambodia’s attempt to attract foreign investment on the one hand and to offer a viable alternative to domestic litigation to local…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Commercial Arbitration, Hybrid arbitration clause, Set aside an international arbitral award, Sweden

(University of Aberdeen)/ /1 Comment

Party autonomy is a well-established cornerstone of arbitration, which treats the parties as the true creators of the arbitral procedure. Hybrid arbitration clauses are built on this cornerstone. In a certain type of hybrid arbitration clause, the parties place the administration of arbitration in the hands of one arbitration institution by using the rules of…

Europe, European Commission, European Union, ISDS, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Uncategorized

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /2 Comments

Ever since the EU started to develop its investment policy, anti-ISDS groups started an unprecedented campaign. Indeed, on the very same day (7 July 2010) the European Commission published its first Communication on the EU’s investment policy, the anti-ISDS groups had a 100 page publication ready calling for the dismantling of international investment arbitration. Since…

Anti-arbitration, Arbitration, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, India

/ /2 Comments

Prior to 2012, India faced widespread criticism from the international arbitral community over a series of judgments concerning arbitration. Much has changed since 2012 – in the post-Bharat Aluminium (“BALCO”) era. A pro-arbitration approach by the judiciary was reflected in a series of judgments that came after the BALCO judgment, such as Reliance Industries (Reliance…

Belarus, Enforcement, Post-award interest

(Sysouev, Bondar, Khrapoutski LLC)/ /Leave a comment

Co-Authored with Hanna Shalbanava (Sysouev, Bondar, Khrapoutski) According to paragraph 1.2.2. of the Guidelines for Arbitrators on how to approach the making of awards on interest adopted by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators “an arbitrator should make an award or awards of interest to cover two distinct periods (a) the period up to the date…

Australia, Investment Arbitration

(King & Wood Mallesons)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Keeping abreast of Australia’s stance on ISDS can be a confusing exercise. Australia’s approach to investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) continues to be hotly debated in the wake of recent revelations by Wikileaks that the investment chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is likely to include ISDS provisions. The Australian government’s stance on ISDS has undergone…

Arbitration, Good Faith, Group of Companies Doctrine, Non-signatory, Switzerland, Third Party

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /1 Comment

and Katherine Bell, Schellenberg Wittmer In 2014, the Swiss Supreme Court rendered 32 decisions on petitions to set aside international arbitral awards. Consistent with a traditionally low success rate, the Supreme Court granted only 4 of the 32 petitions. One of these four petitions was considered in a French-language decision dated 7 April 2014 (Decision…

Arbitral Award, Arbitration Agreements, Set aside an arbitral award, Spain

(Linklaters)/ /1 Comment

The facts of the situation are simple: the claimant goes to the domestic courts and the defendant argues that there is an arbitral agreement. The court judge upholds the jurisdictional objection and refers the parties to arbitration but, once the arbitration proceedings are over, the claimant party appeals to have the award annulled on the…

Arbitrator Challenges, Hong Kong, Singapore, Uncategorized, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP)/ /Leave a comment

and Alessa Pang, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP Arbitrator challenges for inordinate delay can be awkward. However, what happens if the arbitrator decides to render an award before the challenge is concluded? Does rendering the award resolve the matter? Under Article 14(1) of the UNCITRAL Model Law (“Model Law”), an arbitrator’s mandate may be terminated…

Croatia, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Mediation, Multi-tiered clauses, Pre-arbitral procedure

(Central European University)/ /Leave a comment

Mediation has gained much popularity in Croatia in the last several years, and the Croatian legislator regulated enforceability of mediation in Article 18 of the Croatian Mediation Act (Official Gazette No. 18/2011, “the MA”). The solutions provided in the MA are to a large extent resembling the solutions in the UNCITRAL Model Law on International…

Bankruptcy and arbitration, Enforcement, Poland, Set aside an arbitral award, Set aside an international arbitral award

(Kancelaria Adwokacka Adwokat Marcin Orecki)/ /Leave a comment

The Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Poland prepared and published a draft act (“the Draft Law”) (a draft law on promoting amicable dispute resolution methods, available in Polish here ). The Draft Law proposes amendments to the Polish Arbitration Law (part five of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”), Official Journal of…

Arbitration, Oil & Gas

(Clyde & Co. LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Clyde & Co.

and Ian Hopkinson, Clyde & Co At above US$60 per barrel, crude oil prices have bounced a little since their January 2015 low. However, with continued mixed indications concerning US production, opinion remains divided on where prices will end up in the short to medium term. As the recent GAR Live Energy Disputes event (held…

Brazil, Dispute Resolution, Dispute Resolution Boards, Olympic Games

(Probyn Miers Limited)/ /Leave a comment

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation are implementing dispute avoidance and resolution provisions in a unique way across 35 contracts for this upcoming international event. Successful delivery for these high profile projects is critical, since there is no possibility of delay to completion of the contracts, and everything…

Arbitration, Consent, Domestic Courts, obligation to arbitrate, Procedure, Stay of Proceedings, United States, Waiver

(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment
YSIAC

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ordered a fund management committee (‘SBC’) to arbitrate its dispute with Navistar International (‘Navistar’) – at Navistar’s request – despite the fact that Navistar refused SBC’s own request for arbitration, ignored SBC’s formal notice of arbitration, and then litigated SBC’s claim in court for over a year (Art…