The advent of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on 25 May 2018 within the EU and the European Economic Area, has sparked a renewed debate within the arbitration community about importance of adequate consideration being given to the collection, preservation and protection of data in arbitral proceedings. The GDPR…
Brazil has been notoriously reluctant to enter into treaties with other States that provide for the protection of investors and investments, viewing them as detrimental to the host State and its national investors. Brazil has no bilateral investment treaties in force, a limited number of its own treaties, named Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreements (CFIAs),…
A focus on the AIFC Arbitration and Mediation Rules 2018 and improvement to enforcement of arbitral awards in Kazakhstan Introduction to the AIFC The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a financial hub in Kazakhstan that came into operation this year. The purpose of the AIFC is to establish itself as a key centre for…
[I]t is not merely of some importance but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.1) R v Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy [1924] 1 KB 256, 259 (Lord Hewart C.J.) If you sought to distil [the connection between ISDS’s transparency and…
Blockchain and its potential applications are well-documented by technologists and early-adopters. Over the last 12 months, however, this technology has started to take centre stage in more mainstream industry discussions. With the price of Bitcoin spiking early this year (following which the cryptocurrency lost over 50% of its value), blockchain has become big news and…
The new arbitration rules of the German Institution of Arbitration (Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit – “DIS”) will enter into force on 1 March 2018 (“DIS Rules 2018”). It is the first revision of the DIS Rules since the current version was adopted in 1998 (“DIS Rules 1998”). The revision process involved nearly 300 persons sitting…
INTRODUCTION Germany is considered as one of the most arbitration friendly jurisdictions in Europe if not world-wide, not least because the 1998 arbitration law is almost a verbatim translation of the UNCITRAL Model law. This arbitration-friendliness always encompassed also corporate disputes, safe for one minor, but important exception: arbitrations concerning the validity of shareholder…
The recent English Commercial Court case of Oldham v QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd [2017] EWHC 3045 (Comm) (“Oldham v QBE”) serves as a reminder to tribunals that all parties must be given the opportunity of putting their case on costs and responding to the case put to them. In Oldham v QBE, the Commercial Court…
The lack of consensus on ethical standards of conduct for counsel in international arbitration has given rise to two enduring problems. First, lawyers may find it hard to know how they should act where the professional rules of their home jurisdiction differ from, or conflict with, those at the seat of arbitration. Second, parties themselves…
In June 2017, the Fourth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the “Fourth EU Directive” (EU) 2015/849) was transposed into German law. The regime was further tightened, its scope was extended and new features, such as the transparency register, were introduced. With the fifth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive already on the horizon, more changes are to come….
The international economic order is today bound together through a network of bilateral (and multilateral) investment treaties which provide investors with a variety of protections. Such Bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) are a relatively young species dating back to 1959’s Pakistan-Federal Republic of Germany BIT. While the exact content of BITs varies by agreement, most contain…
Singapore and Hong Kong are now considered to be amongst the top arbitration seats in the world, rivalling the long-established seats of London, Paris and Geneva. Perpetuating their dominance in the region, parties to contracts in the Asia-Pacific often choose either of these seats by default with no consideration of alternatives. This is underpinned, to…
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (President) signed the constitutional law “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (Law) on 7 December 2015, which provides a legal framework for the establishment and operation of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The launch of the AIFC is part of the President’s “100 Concrete Steps” Plan of…
The English High Court has reinforced its pro-arbitration stance in two recent judgments in the case of P v Q [2017] EWHC 148 (Comm.) and [2017] EWHC 194 (Comm.). Much attention has been devoted to the failed application under section 24 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”) to remove the arbitral tribunal on…
Introduction Western Australia has many of the hallmarks of an arbitral hub: from a stable liberal democracy, a reliable and predictable judiciary, and very low rates of corruption, to offices of numerous national and international law firms, world-standard business hotels (albeit only a recent arrival), and an efficient international airport (again, only of late, but…
Text books will tell you that, in its origins, the concept of arbitration as a method of resolving disputes was a simple one: two merchants, arguing over damaged merchandise, would settle their dispute by accepting the decision of a fellow merchant. And they would do so not because of any legal mandate, but because it…
Arbitration is an increasingly popular form of dispute resolution in the field of construction, particularly for international projects where parties are of different nationalities, and where at least one party is unlikely to be operating on home soil. However, a commonly cited disadvantage of arbitration as opposed to court litigation is that there may not…
The situation that the Bundesgerichtshof was recently faced with in a case is not uncommon: whilst a state court still reviews an arbitral tribunal’s preliminary ruling on its competence, the arbitral tribunal delivers its final award on the merits. This raises one question: What are the implications for the pending challenge to jurisdiction? In previous…
As Professor Luke Nottage and Dr. Jarrod Hepburn have observed in a forthcoming case note,1)Hepburn, J., Nottage, L. (2016), Case Note: Philip Morris Asia v Australia (Forthcoming), Journal of World Investment and Trade the most recent ruling in the long-running case of Philip Morris Asia v Australia has highlighted the consequences of agreeing to arbitrate…
In William Lim and Another v. Hung Ka Hai Clement and Others [2016] HKCFI 1439; HCA 1282/2016 (24 August 2016), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance ordered a stay of court proceedings and referred an ongoing dispute to arbitration pursuant to s 20 (1) of the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap 609). The Court found that…
A new development in the third party funding arena prompts an increased analysis of the theoretical foundations of the nature of third party funding. At the moment, there are divergent views on its proper place and treatment, and with increased prevalence a piecemeal approach with little theoretical groundwork risks creating a minefield resulting in unpredictability…
Heading The July 2016 Award of the Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v The Peoples’ Republic of China) has been the subject of extensive interest and comment for its findings on rights and maritime entitlements, and the obligations of States under the United Nations Convention on the Law…
London has long been a city associated with international arbitration. In 2015, even with the UK referendum on EU membership looming, according to analysis by theCity UK, London was the seat or centre of 4,738 international commercial arbitrations, mediations and adjudications in 2015. These were conducted under the auspices of numerous institutions, with the long-established…
Claudia Pechstein, 44, is a well-known speed skater – she has won 60 medals at international championships and at the Olympics since 1992. However, the media coverage on her seven year juridical battle against a two year suspension imposed on her for a disputed doping rules violation has put her into the spotlight even more…
