Indicating signals of the evolution of international arbitration, as a response to the need to keep up with a globalised legal and financial market, is not an easy task. It is not an easy task because of the different ways evolution is perceived by different circles. For some, a wind of change in international arbitration…
[Source:Google] In this post the Kluwer Arbitration Blog’s Latin American editorial team (Associate Editor Gloria Alvarez and Assistant Editors Daniela Páez and Enrique Jaramillo) joins us in an adventure to reflect on the Blog’s 2018 coverage of arbitration developments in the region. First, it is worth recapping the environment and circumstances…
Over the last couple of decades, arbitration, its practical aspects, but also its very notion, have faced severe attacks from a variety of critics: politicians, members of civil society, users, etc. While arbitration practitioners are actively tackling many areas of reform, the majority of these denunciations appear, for the most part, biased and overly simplistic….
In December 2017 South Africa brought into law its first piece of legislation dedicated to international arbitration, the aptly named International Arbitration Act of 2017 (the New Act). The New Act The New Act incorporates the provisions of the UNCITRAL Model Law and further aligns the country’s national law with the New York Convention….
Introduction On 7 September 2017, Belgium requested the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) on the compatibility with EU law of the Investment Court System (“ICS”) provided for by the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (“CETA”). In his much anticipated opinion rendered today, Advocate General…
As worldwide competition amongst arbitral institutions continues, the Europe-based arbitral institutions have, thus far, been able to defend their strong market position. Currently, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), with its base in Paris, continues to stand out globally as the most preferred institution by a significant margin (77%). It is followed by the London…
We often mislead ourselves into believing that, by arriving at a certain contract decision, we have carefully considered all available options, weighed up the pros and cons of each attribute dispassionately, and selected the most favourable outcome, i.e. the one which maximises our welfare in the transaction. Regretfully, however, we are seldom cognisant of the…
At the risk of mixing metaphors, if Achmea (Slovak Republic v Achmea Case C-284/16) killed intra-EU investor-state arbitration, and the European Commission’s Communication COM(2018)547/2 of 19 July 2018 knocked the head off its zombie corpse, then the Declaration of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of 15 January 2019 on the legal…
For those of us interested in the intersection of technology and law, 2018 has been a fascinating year. Lawyers across jurisdictions, areas of expertise, and industries have engaged in debates about the use of emerging technologies and the impact that they will have on the future of the legal industry. Blockchain, smart contracts, artificial intelligence…
With the increase of cyber-attacks, arbitral tribunals face the question whether to accept evidence obtained via such an unlawful breach. The question even found its way to this year’s Vis Moot problem, confirming the timeliness and need for a debate on a global level. Current Framework on Admissibility of Evidence An arbitral tribunal is not…
Key developments in international arbitration in 2018 were the focus of an end-of-the-year conference held on Wednesday, 19 December 2018, organized by CIArb YMG, the young members’ group of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and Young ITA, the young members’ group of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration. The event’s faculty members were Alexander G. Leventhal…
This is an introduction to the so-called “Final Offer Arbitration” (FOA), sometimes also referred to as pendulum or baseball arbitration. FOA is a model of arbitration that originated in the late 1940s and consolidated in the 1970s in the USA to resolve labour disputes in the public sector and the baseball league, hence the name….
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the ASA Bulletin is now available and includes the following articles and cases: ARTICLES Karin GRAF, Brigitte UMBACH-SPAHN, Berücksichtigung ausländischer Schiedsurteile in der Insolvenz – Lehren aus den Bundesgerichtsentscheiden in Sachen Swissair [Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Swiss Insolvency Proceedings –…
As the end of the Year of the Dog approaches, we look back at five noteworthy developments in the arbitration world in PR China, Hong Kong and Central Asia and their coverage on our Blog. 1. New HKIAC Arbitration Rules and the Prominence of Hong Kong as an Arbitral Seat Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre…
In May 2018, the Cairo Court of Appeals issued an intriguing judgment concerning the enforcement of an arbitral interim measure. In the words of the Court, the arbitral tribunal has issued a procedural order against Damietta International Ports (“DIP”) ordering the latter to refrain from suing the guarantor bank regarding the liquidation of a letter…
1. The Holding in Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc. Maintains Principles of Arbitration In a recent unanimous decision dated 8 January 2019, Justice Kavanaugh delivered his first opinion of the United States Supreme Court (the “Court”) in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales, Inc. As set-out below, the Court’s decision…
In recent years, a number of arbitral tribunals adjudicating treaty-based investment disputes have been confronted with the question of what to do when the state party to such a dispute alleges that the investors acquired the investment through corrupt means. In some instances, tribunals have applied the defense as a jurisdictional bar, preventing the investors…
Last year was a busy one for arbitration practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and 2019 looks set to be even busier. In 2018, both countries initiated a range of arbitration reforms, initiatives and negotiations which give insights into the likely general direction of travel for both countries in the coming year. This post focusses…
Young ITA has organised over fifteen successful events this year all over the world including in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Guatemala City, Miami, Washington DC, New York City, London, and India. The first Dubai Young ITA talk took place on Wednesday 5 December 2018. The event hosted by Vinson & Elkins featured two panel discussions…
A. Introduction The ICSID Convention and the corresponding Arbitration Rules contain certain provisions that, apparently, are not uniformly applied by arbitral tribunals. Article 47 of the ICSID Convention can be considered as one of them. In light of the proposal for new ICSID Arbitration Rules, a discussion about the use of provisional measures in the…
As a development in the arbitration scene and as a bid to attract investment, the UAE modified article 257 of its Penal Code so as to exclude arbitrators from its coverage (Federal Code No. 24 of 2018). The old version of article 257 of the UAE Penal Code (as had been introduced by Federal Code…
Experts play a pivotal role in many international arbitrations. Usually, they are there to testify what went wrong. However, their know-how of the subject matter of the arbitration and their technical expertise may also be used to explain what went right. One approach to giving an arbitral tribunal the benefit of such an explanation, when confronted…
The year of 2018 has seen arbitration as a dispute resolution forum in the resource rich continent of Africa pendulum between boosting countries in the region as a seat of arbitration and reinforcing court sovereignty in disputes. The year began with optimism in the wake of the OHADA reforms. In late 2017, the Organization for…
Very rarely would a single arbitration-related decision produce as significant an impact as the judgment of the Court of Justice of European Union (“EU” and “CJEU” respectively) in the Achmea case did during 2018. We should not doubt that Achmea will remain a cornerstone issue in the world of arbitration for a long period of…
