Arbitrator Bias, Arbitrator Challenges, Conflicts of interest, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, Independence and Impartiality, Permanent Court of Arbitration

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On 10 October 2022, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) accepted a challenge brought by Venezuela against the appointment of the Claimant’s appointee, Dr. Wolfgang Peter, in an investor state arbitration (PCA Case No. 2022-03) instituted by German Claimant, Lufthansa (“Challenge Decision”). The Challenge Decision is the latest in the series of…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox, Artificial Intelligence, Bias, Ethics, Fraud, Technology

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International arbitration is a prime example of the power and complexity of combined human minds. It is a marvel of human cooperation and ingenuity that strangers forego barbarism in favour of peaceful resolution – even more so when they do it cross-borders, on the unlikely belief that their interests will be guarded by yet another…

Arbitrability, Arbitration Agreement, English Arbitration Act, Singapore, Singapore Court of Appeal, YSIAC

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YSIAC

Issues relating to the arbitrability of disputes have gained increasing prominence in recent years. The question of which law ought to govern an arbitration agreement and concomitantly the inquiry as to whether a dispute is arbitrable, in the absence of an explicit choice of law governing the arbitration agreement has been explored in previous judgments…

Adjudication, Enforcement, English Arbitration Act, Expedited arbitration, Multi-tiered clauses, New York Convention, Pre-arbitral procedure, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, UNCITRAL WG II Series

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This blog post covers UNCITRAL’s current work on adjudication, whose declared goal is to ensure enforcement of decisions concluding the adjudication procedure, especially in the context of cross-border, long-term projects. The post first gives an overview of the model clauses drafted by UNCITRAL, explaining the role played by the UNCITRAL Expedited Arbitration Rules (“Expedited Rules“)….

Chile, Competence-Competence, International agreement, Latin America, Party autonomy

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On December 20, 2022, Chile’s Supreme Court issued a ruling that has been praised by the arbitral community for its pro-arbitration stance in the face of an apparently pathological arbitration clause. In its decision, the highest court of Chile lent decisive support to key international arbitration principles, such as party autonomy, domestic minimum intervention and…

Space Arbitration, Space Economy

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ArbitralWomen

Over the past several years, interest in space-related activities has boomed. Countries increased the number of missions undertaken. Moreover, private actors have become increasingly interested in space activities, particularly in the field of telecoms and satellites, but also advertising and space tourism. This increase in space activity brought with it a rise in discussions within…

Uncategorized, Yearbook Commercial Arbitration

(General Editor, ICCA Publications; Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam)/ /Leave a comment

Subscribers to KluwerArbitration enjoy access to the ICCA Yearbook Commercial Arbitration. The first upload of materials for the 2023 volume of ICCA’s Yearbook Commercial Arbitration is now available on the KluwerArbitration database, with 27 court decisions from 12 countries. Here are some of the highlights. The European Court of Human Rights in BTS Holding v….

Arbitration, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Procedure, Arbitration Tech Toolbox, ICC Arbitration, Technology

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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…

Additional Facility Rules, Arbitration Agreements, Awards, Enforceability, Enforcement, New York Convention, Reciprocity, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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In a recent decision, the Austrian Supreme Court ruled on the enforceability of an investor-state award rendered under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules. While the Supreme Court found that the award was — in principle — enforceable under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards from 1958 (“NYC“), it upheld the…

Teaching International Investment Arbitration Series

(Durham Law School)/ /1 Comment

As a student in Ireland, US, and Sweden, I came to learn that I was not only studying contracts, or torts, or constitutional law, but rather “contracts with Professor Hedley”, “torts with Professor O’Callaghan”, “constitutional law with O’Mahony”, and so on. Fast-forward some years later, my own students do not take the general course of…

European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, Human Rights, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Public Interest

(City University of Hong Kong/ UMBRA Strategic Legal Solutions)/ /Leave a comment

On 30 November 2022, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (along with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law) organised the 2022 Kaplan Lecture. The lecture was delivered by Robert Spano – a former President and Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) – and focussed on the new frontiers faced by…

2022 in Review, Arbitration, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Ukraine

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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…

EU Law, Third party funding

(Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /Leave a comment

International arbitration proceedings typically involve fact-sensitive and technically complex transnational disputes, and usually require large legal teams, multiple expert and fact witnesses, making the costs skyrocket. In this scenario, a party lacking the necessary funds might decide not to pursue a legitimate claim. This limited access to arbitral justice is concerning from a policy standpoint,…

Arbitral seat, Canada, Common Law, Diversity, Interviews with Our Editors, ISDS, Sport arbitration

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Few people can pride themselves with a career as rich and impactful as that of the Honorable L. Yves Fortier, PC CC, OQ, KC, Ad. E., LLD and no summary will do it justice. Counsel, negotiator, arbitrator, diplomat, thought leader – these are just some of the hats Mr. Fortier has worn over the years….

Enforcement, Russia, Sanctions, Sovereign Immunity

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On 24th of February 2022, the Russian Federation commenced a full-scale and open invasion of Ukraine after annexation of Crimea and eight years of hiding behind its puppet republics, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. The main difference between the start of armed conflict in the Donbas region in 2014 and the start of…

2022 in Review

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In our 2021 in Review post, we predicted that 2022 would not disappoint; it would be another busy year with several investment arbitration-related developments in the European Union (EU). In line with the Blog’s traditional “year-in-review” series, this post is the moment of truth for our prediction. In what follows, I will offer an overview…

2022 in Review, Diversity, Sustainability

(Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas )/ /2 Comments

In 2022, the international arbitration community took several further impactful steps towards building awareness of diversity challenges in the profession and towards improving existing disparities. As previously discussed on this Blog here and here, an intersectional analysis of diversity is important to evaluate how each minority is faring, individually and when intersected with each other….

2022 in Review, Emergency Application, Emergency Arbitrator, Enforcement, Group of Companies Doctrine, India, Institutional Arbitration, Non-signatory

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In recent years, arbitration in India has grappled with numerous challenges.  Recalcitrant parties knocking on the doors of trigger-happy courts ensured, unfortunately, that arbitration was viewed with mistrust in India.  However, the changes observed in the last few years, including those discussed in our prior year in review posts focused on India (see here, here…

Achmea, Balkans, Climate change, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Paris Agreement

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Amid a push for more decisive action toward energy transition, countries around the world are facing pressure to innovate and adopt sweeping legislative amendments, all while trying to avoid investment claims by foreign investors affected by the changing regulatory frameworks. Among the countries performing this balancing act, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Western Balkans countries…

2022 in Review, AAA Model BIT, AfCFTA, Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone Arbitration Act, Surveys

(Aluko & Oyebode) and (University of Oxford)/ /Leave a comment

2022 witnessed the continued growth and concerted efforts of practitioners within Africa to promote the use of arbitration across the region. A report published by Herbert Smith Freehills in the first quarter of 2022 revealed that the number of arbitrations taking place in the continent, in comparison with those outside the continent, has increased. Despite…

Annulment, Appointment of arbitrators, Equal Treatment, France

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Recently, in the landmark Vidatel case (previously discussed here), the French Court of Cassation (“Court of Cassation”) rejected an appeal for setting aside an arbitral award on the ground, among others, that the tribunal was improperly constituted. This appeal had arisen from a Paris Court of Appeal (“Court of Appeal”) judgment refusing to set aside…

2022 in Review, Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Switzerland

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This post highlights the most significant arbitration-related developments in Switzerland in 2022 that are of interest to the international arbitration community at large. Part I focuses on the topic of arbitrator’s independence and impartiality as well as on enforcement of arbitral awards in Switzerland, all from the perspective of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (‘SFSC’)….

2022 in Review, Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Switzerland

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This Part II of the 2022 Year in Review: Switzerland post focuses on decisions of the SFSC providing useful guidance on the remedy of revision (as in force since January 2021) and on the concept of “treaty shopping”. In addition, Part II briefly summarizes the main developments in Swiss legislation and arbitration rules (Supplemental Swiss…

2022 in Review, Advance on Costs, Annulment, Applicable Law, Duty to Disclose, France, International Public Policy, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration

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This post provides a review of the most noteworthy arbitration-related developments in France in 2022. In a nutshell, last year, French courts consolidated previous approaches and solutions endorsed in 2020 and 2021, and confirmed major developments of French arbitration law.   The Fear of a Substantive Review of Awards by the Annulment Judge Are French…