Since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, the ‘end of lawyers’ narrative has found new life. From Goldman Sachs predicting that 44% of tasks performed by corporate lawyers would be automated by Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) to GPT-4 passing the bar, AI has put the legal profession on notice. Even the infamous case of a lawyer who…
In an era increasingly defined by unilateral economic sanctions, international arbitration faces a new set of challenges. Sanctions are not only imposed on the parties but can also implicate arbitrators, as seen in Macquarie Bank Ltd v China Wanda Group Co., Ltd, (2021) Hu 74 Xie Wai Ren No.1, which concerns the enforcement of a…
In this blogpost I will explain why the European Union (“EU”) failed to meet its own constitutional requirements as set forth in Art. 21 of the Treaty on European Union (“TEU”) when it decided not to sign the modernized Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) text, which was recently adopted. As a starting point, I will use…
To emerge from a fragile post-conflict situation, a state must undergo a process of reconstruction. Such a process begins with a peace agreement, a ceasefire agreement, or other cessation of hostilities. Those circumstances provide a window of opportunity for a peace-dividend. Reconstruction in post-conflict societies is a complex undertaking with an array of urgent and…
On June 24, 2024, the European Union (“EU”) has introduced Council Regulation 2024/1745 which imposes the 14th package of sanctions against Russia, intensifying its response to Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine. Among the key legal innovations in this package are Articles 11a and 11b, which provide EU operators with two distinct legal bases to seek…
Keeton v. Tesla addresses a significant question: whether a section of the California Arbitration Act (CAA) is preempted by the United States Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The California Court of Appeal concluded that Section 1281.98 of the CAA is not preempted by the FAA, although, due to procedural nuances under the California Rules of Court,…
In Case No. ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2024:947, the Appeal Court in Amsterdam granted leave to enforce an arbitral award despite the applicant being unable to produce the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy thereof, as prescribed by article IV(1) of the New York Convention. This post assesses this decision and similar decisions against the background of…
From 20 to 22 November 2024, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) hosted the second edition of the JCAA Arbitration Days, as part of the inaugural Japan International Arbitration Week (JIAW) in Tokyo. This article reports on the second day of the JCAA Arbitration Days, held in hybrid format on 21 November 2024. The panels…
This year, Japan held its first ever Japan International Arbitration Week (JIAW) in Tokyo from 18-22 November 2024. Previously held as a standalone event for the first time last year, this year’s Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) Arbitration Days featured an expanded two days of sessions in English followed by one day of sessions in…
With giga-projects at the forefront of its construction industry, the eyes of international contractors and foreign investors alike are on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”). But as with all construction projects of significant scale and complexity, disputes are unavoidable. With the introduction of the new arbitration rules of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration…
It has been a distinct honour to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal over the last seven years. In my first editorial, I was commenting on the remarkable evolution that the field of international arbitration has undergone in the last forty years both in terms of practice and scholarship. Arbitration’s evolution has intensified during…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) is undergoing a transformative shift in its economy. In 2016, the KSA launched the Saudi Vision 2030, an initiative to, among others, attract foreign and domestic investment by improving the regulatory environment and enhancing business opportunities. A key piece of this transformation came on 11 August 2024, when the…
Six previously unpublished ICC awards are now available online on Kluwer Arbitration, as part of the ICCA Awards Series. The awards published deal with a broad range of issues, including the application of the CISG and of the UNIDROIT Principles, principles of contractual interpretation in case of ambiguously worded clauses, the admissibility of penalty clauses,…
On 8 November 2024, the Roma Tre-UNIDROIT Centre for Transnational Commercial Law and International Arbitration held its first Annual Conference, titled ”The Many Shades of Climate Change: Through the Lenses of Dispute Settlement”, at the Bank of Italy’s ‘Carlo Azeglio Ciampi’ Convention Centre, Rome. The conference was co-organised by the Roma Tre-UNIDROIT Centre and the…
For over a decade, diversity in the field of arbitration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) has been on a positive trajectory. In 2012, the Saudi Arbitration Law (Royal Decree No. M/34) came into force and, unlike its predecessor of 1983, did not contain any requirements regarding the arbitrator’s gender. Subsequently, in 2016, the…
In the recent Singapore High Court (“Court”) case of DJA v DJB [2024] SGHCR 10 (“DJA v DJB”), the Court was tasked with determining the novel question of whether the general legal principles for an application for a case management stay apply when an applicant seeks a case management stay of its own application to…
In recent years, there has been a boom in international demand for Latin American commodities as well as massive foreign investment in the region, especially in the energy, mining and construction sectors. This has led to a corresponding increase in the number of international contracts involving a Latin American party and a foreign party that…
On 9 August 2024, the Commercial High Court of England and Wales (the “Court”) has declined to set aside the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) investment award issued in Diag & Mr. Josef Stava v Czech Republic (the “Award”), rejecting the jurisdictional challenges raised by the Czech Republic (the “Judgement”). The Czech Republic challenged the…
In a noteworthy decision, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, “BGH”) (Case No. I ZB 34/23, 11 July 2024 – “Decision”) addressed the German arbitration law provision mirroring Article 31(1) 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“Model Law”). It found that the note “signature could not be obtained” provides sufficient reason for…
In an attempt to modernize Pakistan’s legal regime on arbitration, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan assembled the Arbitration Law Review Committee (the “ALRC”), and tasked it to prepare a new legislation on the subject. After protracted deliberations by members of the ALRC, the draft Arbitration Act, 2024 (the “Draft Act”) has come into…
The judgment of the Singapore International Commercial Court (the “Court”) in DJO v DJP and others [2024] SGHC(I) 24 (“DJO”) provides helpful guidance on when an award may be set aside for breach of natural justice. While setting-aside applications do not generally succeed given the well-established principle of minimal curial intervention, the Court undoubtedly reached…
In May 2024, an LCIA tribunal issued an award in a multi-million-dollar arbitration involving the construction, operation, and service provision of a coal transportation and storage system. The case, which spanned three years, centered on complex issues of party joinder, cross-claims, and contractual obligations. On August 23, 2024, the Claimants filed a petition before the…
Law No. 20.257, enacted on April 25, 2024, amended the arbitration procedure in domestic arbitrations contained in the Uruguayan General Procedural Code (“GPC”). Pursuant to Law No. 19.636–Act on International Commercial Arbitration (“AICA”), the amendment of the General Procedural Code enhanced the domestic arbitration framework by providing greater flexibility. The new law eliminated the mandatory…
On November 8, 2024, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress released for public comment the draft amendment to the PRC Arbitration Law (“2024 Draft”) after its first review during the Twelfth Session meeting. The 2024 Draft version generated immediate and widespread concerns and criticism. In stark contrast to the draft amendment released…
