2020 In Review

2020 In Review, Amendment, Anti-arbitration Injunction, Arbitrability, BIT, Enforcement, Fraud, India, kompetenz-kompetenz, Limitation period, Seat of the arbitration, Venue

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The “2019 in Review: India” started with a quote from Jeff Bezos that the 21st century belongs to India. Little did we know then that, one year later, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon would be fighting tooth and nail in a SIAC arbitration and related litigation in the Indian courts to claim a share of the burgeoning…

2020 In Review, Arbitration Agreement, Consent, Equal Treatment, Good Faith, Interim Award, Interpretation of Contracts, Partial award, Res Judicata, Right to be heard, Switzerland

(Rihar & Thouvenin Dispute Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

This report highlights the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “SFSC”) issued in 2020.   Tribunal’s Jurisdiction – Scope of Arbitration Agreement In 2020, the SFSC issued several decisions on the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal and on the determination of the objective (ratione materiae) and subjective (ratione personae)…

2020 In Review, Diversity, Due process, Remote hearings, sociology of international arbitration, Sustainability, Virtual hearings, Vis Moot

and (Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 public health crisis, a seismic event in history, many of us feel as if 2020 is the year that did not happen. While it certainly was not business as usual, in a display of flexibility and resilience, the arbitration community ensured that the (virtual) show did go on. With…

2020 In Review, Arbitrator's mandate, Corruption, Disclosure, Economic Sanctions, Enforcement, France, Immunity, Independence and Impartiality, kompetenz-kompetenz

(Laborde Law) and (Talma Dispute Resolution)/ /Leave a comment

The pandemic did not prevent French courts from bringing their share of arbitration-related developments, although they remained almost inactive from March to June. This post succinctly reviews some of 2020’s noteworthy developments.   Important Decisions of the Paris Court of Appeal’s International Section Operational since March 2018, the International Chamber of the Paris court of…

2020 In Review, Arbitrability, Arbitration institution, Armenia, China, COVID-19, Document Production, Enforcement, Free Trade Zones, Georgia, HK Arbitration Week, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Japan, Macau, South Korea, Virtual hearings

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In spite of unfamiliar challenges that emerged in 2020, arbitration progress in East and Central Asia has persisted. In this post, our East and Central Asian editorial team recapitulates major arbitration trends and developments of the region featured in the past year from the perspectives of national and interstate policies, judicial and legislative changes, as…

2020 In Review, BIT, Brexit, COVID-19, Due process, foreign direct investment, Human Rights, International agreement, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform

(Georgetown Law) and (Columbia Law School)/ /Leave a comment

It will come as no surprise to the readers of this blog that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on international arbitration (see blog coverage here).  In this post, we take a look back at 2020 to consider the intersection of the pandemic, investment, and human rights.  In February 2020, one of…

2020 In Review, Annulment, Appeal, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Bankruptcy and arbitration, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Commercial Arbitration, Confidentiality, Corruption, COVID-19, Duty to Disclose, Emergency Measure, Enforcement, Judicial intervention, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Transparency, Venezuela

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

Corruption, annulment of arbitral awards and court intervention mark the main developments for 2020 in Latin America.  Our contributors this year reported on the most important judicial decisions and legislative measures impacting the legal framework of various jurisdictions in the region. A new ‘hot topic’ arising from the COVID-19 pandemic is the interplay between arbitration…

2020 In Review, Code of Conduct, ISDS Reform, Singapore Convention on Mediation, UNCITRAL WG III Series

(Australian National University) and (Durham Law School)/ /1 Comment

Introduction In spite of delays and shifting priorities owing to the pandemic, institutional efforts to reform the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime have continued throughout 2020. In this post, we look back at our coverage of the work of UNCITRAL Working Group III (“WGIII”) on investor-State arbitration reform, especially in light of the 2021 reform…

2020 In Review, Applicable Law, Arbitration Agreement, Australia, English courts, French Law, Governing Law, Law governing the arbitration agreement, Pacific Islands, Paris Court of Appeal, Proper law of arbitration agreement, Singapore, Sweden

(Mihaela Maravela Law Office) and , / /Leave a comment

2020 saw important case law developments concerning the proper law of arbitration agreements, where the seat of the arbitration is in a different jurisdiction from the governing law of the main contract, particularly in the UK. However, various jurisdictions have adopted different approaches to this issue. It remains to be seen which jurisdictions will follow…

2020 In Review, AIAC, ASEAN, Diversity, Indonesia, Malaysia, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, SIAC, SIAC Congress, Singapore, Singapore Convention on Mediation, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, YSIAC

, and (Clifford Chance Asia)/ /Leave a comment

Today is the last day of 2020. For most of us, 2020 has been a particularly unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prompted by necessity, arbitration in Southeast Asia adapted to the sea-change by: (i) using technology for virtual hearings, events and to build on existing diversity initiatives, (ii) developing domestic arbitration case law…

2020 In Review, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, BIT, Institutional Rules, Investment Arbitration

(The Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

In 2019, we were wondering whether winter had come to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), bringing with it a decline in the negotiation and conclusion of bilateral investment treaties. Looking back on 2020, we are left asking ourselves a similar question. This post will examine the year’s major institutional developments and their effects on ISDS both…

2020 In Review, Arbitration, Kluwer Arbitration Blog

(Notre Dame Law School) and (Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

In December of each year we take a moment to thank our readers, collaborators and editors for their tremendous support. This year is special. As we come at the end of a year of challenges, but also of opportunities, we express our gratitude for being part of an amazing community and for being able to…

2020 In Review, Europe, ICC Rules, Investment Arbitration, LCIA Rules, Legislation, Ordre Public, Right to be heard, Yukos

(Brunel University London) and / /Leave a comment

Although the Old Continent has suffered tremendously at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of arbitration still managed to find a way to keep on going. In this post, we are going to provide an overview of the most pivotal arbitration developments that occurred on the European soil in 2020. Among others, these…

2020 In Review, Appellate Court, Burden of proof, Colombia, Corruption, Dominican Republic, International Investment Arbitration, Interpretation, Latin America, Lava Jato, Mexico, Odebrecht investigation, Peru, USMCA, Venezuela

(Locke Lord LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In 2020, we witnessed a number of interesting developments in the field of investment arbitration in Latin America. From the entry into force of the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed over a year ago, as well as numerous cases and actions still arising from the Odebrecht scandal that became public back…

2020 In Review, Africa, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Commercial Arbitration, New York Convention

(Equanimity Arbitration) and (University of Oxford)/ /Leave a comment

We initiate our traditional Year in review series of 2020 with a retrospective view of the reported developments in the Sub-Saharan Africa. In this post, we aim at giving you a quick look back to some of our most impactful publications in 2020 from this geographical area, with a focus on the commercial arbitration developments…