ICSID, ICSID Amendments, ICSID Arbitration

, (British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL))/ /Leave a comment

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (“BIICL”), and DLA Piper, recently organized an event titled Revised ICSID Arbitration Rules: Key Changes. Following the initial presentation of Martina Polasek (ICSID Secretariat), Prof. Yarik Kryvoi (BIICL), Kate Cervantes-Knox, (DLA Piper), Guglielmo Verdirame KC (Twenty Essex) and Dr. Anthony Sinclair (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan) shared…

2022 Nigeria Arbitration Bill, 2022 Sierra Leone Arbitration Act, AAA Model BIT, Ad hoc arbitration, AfCFTA, Africa, World Arbitration Update

(Strasbourg University)/ /1 Comment

The second edition of the World Arbitration Update was held from 26 to 30 September 2022. The panels dedicated to the African region were held on September 28, and one of the panels focused on ‘Legal Developments in Sub-Saharan Africa’. The panel discussions provided an overview of and updates on the practice of arbitration in…

Achmea, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, modernisation process, World Arbitration Update

(Georgetown University Law Center)/ /Leave a comment

The Second Edition of the World Arbitration Update (WAU) took place from September 26 to September 30, 2022. This post highlights the panel on “Taking Stock of the ECT Modernization Process: Fit for the 21st Century?”. The panel was moderated by WAW Co-founder José Antonio Rivas (Xtrategy LLP/Georgetown Law). He was joined by Daniela-Olivia Ghicajanu (Georgetown…

Achmea, ECT Modernisation, European Court of Justice, European Union, Fair and Equitable Treatment, fossil fuels phase out, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS Reform, right to regulate, Treaty Making

(Seven Summits Arbitration), (University of Copenhagen), and (Hasselt University )/ /Leave a comment

The Centre for International Law and Governance, University of Copenhagen, in cooperation with Hasselt University and Seven Summits Arbitration, recently hosted an expert roundtable on “The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) at a Crossroads”. The discussion, moderated by the three authors of this post, focused on the relationship between investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), investment protection, modernization…

Guatemala, Investment, Latin America, stabilization clauses, Tax incentives

(Georgetown University Law Center)/ /Leave a comment

On September 19, 2022, the Guatemalan Congress enacted the Act for Promotion of Investment of Foreign Capital, 46-2022 (Ley de Fomento de Inversión de Capital Extranjero) (the “Act”), which came into force on September 27, 2022. The Act aims to promote investment projects from foreign capital in Guatemala. The Act gives special treatment to foreign…

Applicable Law, Civil Law, Common Law, Iura Novit Curia

and (Linklaters)/ /2 Comments

An arbitrator’s authority to rely on a law that was not pleaded by the parties has been the subject of extensive discussions in the literature. Anecdotal evidence suggests that civil law jurisdictions broadly tend to adopt a more liberal approach to recognizing such authority in international arbitration, while common law jurisdictions, on the other hand,…

Applicable Law, Arbitration Agreement, France

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The epic finale of the Kabab-Ji saga has arrived.  On 28 September 2022, the French Court of Cassation has delivered its long-awaited decision in Kabab-Ji SAL (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) (Court of Cassation, Appeal No. 20-20.260) less than a year following the United Kingdom Supreme Court’s (UK SC) final say in the case’s…

Climate change, Environment, KCAB, Renewable energy, Seoul ADR Festival

(Peter & Kim)/ /Leave a comment

On the second day of the 11th Asia-Pacific ADR Virtual Conference, the KCAB, the South Korean Ministry of Justice, the ICC Court of Arbitration and UNCITRAL hosted a panel on the state of the energy markets in 2022. The panel was moderated by Dr. Wolfgang Peter (Senior Partner, Peter & Kim) and the panelists included…

Arbitrator Challenges, Costs, Due process, Efficiency, Expedited arbitration, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, KCAB, Korea, Multi-tiered clauses, Seoul ADR Festival, Virtual hearings

, (Kim & Chang)/ /Leave a comment

The Seoul ADR Festival (“SAF”) 2022, conducted by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, was held between 7-11 November 2022. The 11th Asia-Pacific ADR Virtual Conference, the flagship conference of SAF 2022, took place on 9-10 November 2022 and was attended by more than 400 participants. It covered a broad range of topics over four sessions….

Balkans, Damages, Enforcement, Investor-State arbitration

(LK Law), (Red Lion Chambers), (Sejdiu & Qerkini), and (Kalo & Associates)/ /Leave a comment

On 29-30 September 2022, the second annual Balkan Arbitration Conference (“BAC 22”) – was held in Tirana, Albania. The Conference is the first arbitration conference for the Balkan region as a whole. Its purpose is to provide a forum to help build cooperation and develop the use and practice of arbitration in the Balkan region….

Agreement in writing, Arbitration Agreement, Poland

, (GESSEL)/ /Leave a comment

The COVID-19 pandemic made us realize that a lot of business can be conducted remotely, and that drafting contracts does not have to involve physical signatures on the same documents by all the parties involved. This progress, of course, has not bypassed arbitration. In this post, we will look at how to effectively conclude an…

Australia, Australian Arbitration Week, Emergency Application, Emergency Arbitrator, Emergency Measure, Injunction, Interim measures, Interim Order, Interim Orders, interim relief

, , , (Corrs Chambers Westgarth)/ /Leave a comment

The annual “Great Debate” took place on the fourth day of Australian Arbitration Week. This event, organised with the support of hosting sponsor Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has now become a mainstay of Australian Arbitration Week, and involves a lively comedic debate between Team Arbitration and Team Litigation about which method of dispute resolution should reign…

Appeal, Arbitral Award, Arbitration Award, Arbitration Awards, Awards, Final Award, Finality, Fraud, Revision of Award

, (Busse Disputes)/ /1 Comment

One of the great advantages of arbitration is that it is a “one-shot” dispute resolution mechanism that does not allow for a series of appeals. Indeed, many users stress the finality of awards and the lack of an appeals mechanism as a valuable characteristic of arbitration. However, there may be situations where the “one shot”…

Australia, Australian Arbitration Week, Technology

(DLA Piper)/ /Leave a comment

On the second day of Australian Arbitration Week, DLA Piper’s office in Melbourne, Australia, hosted a panel addressing “Hot Issues Involving Technology Arbitration”. The panel comprised: Gowri Kangeson (Partner in DLA Piper’s Litigation and Regulatory, and Arbitration Groups); Tim Lyons (Partner in DLA Piper’s Intellectual Property and Technology Group); and Jason Choi (Senior Associate in…

ACICA, Arbitral Appointments, Arbitrators, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Australian Arbitration Week, CIArb, Diversity, Interviews with Our Editors

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Caroline Kenny KC is a barrister, mediator, and arbitrator. She has over 30 years’ experience in commercial disputes. In 2008 she was appointed as King’s Counsel and has since been recognised as a Chartered Arbitrator – the only female Chartered Arbitrator in Australia. Caroline’s arbitration experience therefore spans across various roles within international commercial arbitration…

Commercial Arbitration, ICCA Edinburgh 2022, Investment Arbitration, sociology of international arbitration

, (International Council for Commercial Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

The theme of this year’s ICCA Congress was “Arbitration’s Age of Enlightenment?”, a reference to the Scottish Enlightenment, an age in which the old order was challenged, and new ideas led to innovation in several fields. The ICCA Programme Committee’s formulation of the Congress theme as a question rather than a statement is telling: its…

Jurisdiction, Pleadings, Remission, Set aside an arbitral award, Singapore

(Singapore Management University)/ /Leave a comment

When determining what matters fall within the scope of submission to arbitration, five sources are relevant: the parties’ pleadings, the agreed list of issues, opening statements, evidence adduced, and closing submissions: CDM v CDP [2021] 2 SLR 235 at [18]. If a court, on an analysis of these five sources, finds that an award should…

ECT Modernisation, Energy Charter Treaty

, (King & Spalding)/ /Leave a comment

The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has long been subject to debate focusing on its perceived chilling effect on energy transition, the compatibility of intra‑EU disputes under the ECT with EU law, and the cost-efficiency of investment arbitration. On 24 June 2022, after five years of negotiations, the Energy Charter Conference Member States reached an agreement…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration clause, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Diversity

, (Vinson & Elkins LLP)/ /1 Comment

The international arbitration community has made progress on improving diversity across the field, but continues to fall short on appointing diverse international arbitration tribunals. Experts point to a range of reasons for the lack of diversity in international arbitration tribunals, chief among which is the lack of an experienced pool, coupled with the reluctance of…

ECT Modernisation, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty

(University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

In November this year, the Energy Charter Conference will meet to adopt amendments to the ECT in accordance with the agreement in principle on the modernised ECT. However, the text of the modernised ECT has received much criticism in recent weeks (see e.g., here). Despite the fact that the modernised text of the ECT largely…

Achmea, CJEU, Germany, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS

, (Nishimura & Asahi)/ /Leave a comment

On 1 September 2022, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (“HRC Cologne”) issued two much-awaited decisions granting the Netherlands’ requests (see our report here) to have the German claimants’, RWE and Uniper, ECT-based ICSID arbitrations declared inadmissible pursuant to section 1032(2) of the German Code of Civil Procedure (“ZPO”) due to their intra-EU nature. As we reported,…

Arbitral Award, CAM-CCBC Arbitration Congress IX Edition, Latin America, Publication of Arbitral Awards

(Rodrigo Mendes Advogados)/ /Leave a comment

Between 17-23 October 2022, the São Paulo Arbitration Week (“SPAW”) was held with multiple events in different parts of the biggest city of Latin America. The SPAW is a collaborative event, organized by Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (“CAM-CCBC”), and is conceived as a calendar for law firms, universities,…

Brazilian Arbitration Act, CAM-CCBC Arbitration Congress IX Edition, Corporate, Corporate disputes, Latin America

(Manesco, Ramires, Perez, Azevedo Marques Sociedade de Advogados)/ /Leave a comment

The IXth Edition of the CAM-CCBC Arbitration Congress took place on 17 – 18 October 2022, in São Paulo, Brazil. The congress brought together practitioners to discuss “the today and the tomorrow” of the arbitration market. After two years of pandemic, the convention provided a unique forum to debate a wide range of topics, including…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitrator Challenges, Brazil, CAM-CCBC Arbitration Congress IX Edition, Latin America

(Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados – BMA) and (The CAM-CCBC)/ /Leave a comment

On 17 and 18 October 2022, the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada held its IXth Arbitration Congress (“IX CAM-CCBC Congress” or “Congress”) in São Paulo. The Congress is the opening event of what became the Sao Paulo Arbitration Week (“SPAW”): a collaborative calendar for law firms, universities, associations, and…