Arbitration Awards

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Europe, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

In a decision rendered on April 15, 2009, a three-member tribunal composed of Brigitte Stern as chairperson, Andreas Bucher and Juan Fernandez-Armesto rejected Phoenix Action Ltd’s (“Phoenix”) claims against the Czech Republic. By way of background, Phoenix is an Israeli company which purchased two Czech companies, Benet Praha (“BP”) and Benet Group (“BG”), in 2002…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Asia-Pacific, Domestic Courts, Investment Arbitration, Seat of the arbitration

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /3 Comments

It is well accepted that state responsibility arises under international law for denial of justice. This might occur, for example, where a state court abuses its supervisory function over an international arbitration. In the investment treaty context, a denial of justice by host state courts would normally lead to a fairly straight forward breach of…

Arbitration Awards, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, North America

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

One of the benefits of international commercial arbitration is the ability to resolve disputes between the parties in a single, neutral forum that gives neither party a “home court advantage.” After a dispute arises, however, litigious parties sometimes engage in tactical maneuvering aimed at circumventing the parties’ agreement to arbitrate. A recent US case gives…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Other Issues

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

One of the greatest challenges for international arbitration in recent times is the users’ complaint that the process has become too costly. In-house counsel are under pressure to control costs, and they grumble that arbitrators and international arbitration counsel are not sufficiently responsive to their concerns. Outside counsel are rightly troubled by these complaints. Frustrating…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, International Courts, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Investment Arbitration, Legal Practice, Public Policy

(Wayne State University)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

How should tribunals apply investment treaties to measures adopted during times of crisis? Recognizing crisis as the point at which foreign investors become most vulnerable (and therefore require the most protection), should tribunals guard against any temptation to dilute the rigor of external discipline? Conversely, recognizing crisis as the point at which states can lay…

Africa, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitrators, Europe, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Legal Practice

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

In submitting his instructions to the American delegation attending the 1907 Second Hague Conference, Secretary of State Elihu Root argued that the Permanent Court of Arbitration system needed radical improvement. In his instructions he wrote: There can be no doubt that the principal objection to arbitration rests, not upon the unwillingness of nations to submit…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, International Legal Theory and Teaching, UN and Int’l Organizations

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

1. Is Arbitral Jurisprudence anything more than a myth? 2. How does persuasiveness of past awards operate? 3. Is Precedent the product of the intrinsic qualities of one or more particularly well-reasoned awards? 4. Why do arbitral awards need to be available? 5. Why is reliance on arbitral precedents not frequent? 6. Should all awards…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Disclosure, Europe, North America

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The already much debated Paris Court of appeal judgment in Tecnimont, rendered on 12 February 2009, has put into light the dangers arising from the lack of uniformity in the field of conflict disclosure. The Paris Court of appeal has quashed a partial award because the chairman of the arbitral tribunal, a well-known international arbitrator…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

When does a most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment clause in an investment treaty confer jurisdiction on an investor-state arbitration tribunal? Most readers will be aware that in a series of decisions investment treaty tribunals have given very different responses to this question. On the one hand, a line of decisions suggests that, unless there is a express…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe, Joinder, Jurisdiction, Public Policy, Res Judicata

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /1 Comment

The Paris Court of appeal, on 25 September 2008, and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, on 5 December 2008 have rendered two interesting decisions. These two decisions address issues of primary importance, such as the “extension” of the arbitration agreement, joinders, and the scope of review by courts of award having declined the tribunal’s jurisdiction. These…

Arbitration Awards, Investment Arbitration

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

In a post last month, I offered a few thoughts on the future of moral damages in investment treaty arbitration. One arbitration where I thought we might see an award of moral damages is a case pitting a group of Dutch farmers (Funnekotter, et.al.) against the Government of Zimbabwe. By way of update, I wanted…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Enforcement, Europe, European Law, Legislation, Lis Pendens, Seat of the arbitration

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /1 Comment

The relationship between Arbitration and European Judicial Private Law has not always been easy. The bedrock European Law principle in this field, as embedded in the European Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of December 22, 2000 on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (“the Judgment Regulation”), is the…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators

(International Council for Commercial Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Dedicated to the late Thomas Wälde, The Future of Investment Arbitration examines some of the current pressures on investment arbitration and looks toward the future of the system as a whole. The authors address issues such as gaps in the procedural rules, the lack of development in certain substantive areas of international investment law, inconsistencies…

Arbitration Awards, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, North America

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

For international arbitrations seated in the United States, there has sometimes been a tension between the so-called “American rule” against the shifting of attorneys’ fees and litigation costs to the loser of the proceedings, and the more accepted practice of fee-shifting in international arbitrations as expressed in procedural rules such as the UNCITRAL and LCIA…

Arbitration Awards, Domestic Courts, Enforcement, International Courts, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Middle East, North America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court decided Iran v. Elahi, a case that appears to fall within a data set of one. As I reported elsewhere, the case is extraordinarily complex, focusing on whether a terrorist victim judgment creditor can attach a confirmed arbitration award rendered in Iran’s favor. Although it involves exotic issues…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe, National Arbitration Laws, North America

(White & Case LLP)/ /1 Comment
White & Case

In two recently reported cases, parties to arbitrations have challenged arbitrator and/or institutional fees where the underlying awards have also been subject to annulment or set aside proceedings. Are these cases isolated instances or do they signal an increased trend? The answer may have widespread ramifications for how, and where, arbitrations are conducted and administered….

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Investment Arbitration

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /1 Comment
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

In the early 1990’s, then World Bank Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Ibrahim Shihata, and then ICSID Legal Advisor, Antonio Parra, observed that there “was hardly any case law” on the full protection and security standard. In so doing, Messrs. Shihata and Parra also posited that “[a]rbitrators in future cases will undoubtedly have the…

Arbitration Awards, Investment Arbitration

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /1 Comment

One of the more intriguing investment arbitration decisions rendered in 2008 has to be the final award in Desert Line Properties (DLP) v. Yemen. In their February 2008 award, a tribunal of three arbitrators held that Yemen denied fair and equitable treatment to an Omani construction company. The claimant turned to ICSID after Yemeni authorities…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration

/ /Leave a comment

In Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court has recently, and for the first time, had the opportunity to hear and reject the challenge of an award rendered pursuant to the Expedited Procedure (Article 42) of the Swiss Rules. There is nowadays a recurring complaint that arbitration is becoming too long and too expensive a dispute resolution…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, North America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

George Bermann, the ALI Reporter for the Restatement (Third) on the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration, presented a wonderful summary of the current progress on the Restatement at the ASIL annual meeting last week. Here are a few key thoughts from my notes. The Restatement is in its early stages and it could take…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Europe, Jurisdiction

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent decision of 22 January 2009 (4A_424/2008), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court had to consider an appeal against a decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a qualifying competition was held for the women’s Olympic hockey tournament. The Spanish team won…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe

(Baker & McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

A recent decision of the English High Court (F Ltd v M Ltd [2009] EWHC 275 (TCC)) confirms that the Court may intervene and allow successful challenge of an arbitral award in order to protect parties against the unfair conduct of an arbitration. However, the case also demonstrates that the applicable test (i.e. a serious…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, North America

(The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Law and Department of International Relations)/ /Leave a comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

Two weeks ago, an LCIA tribunal issued its Award on Remedies in a dispute filed by the U.S. against Canada under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA). This dispute is interesting in many respects. Most obviously, it is a state-to-state dispute adjudicated under the auspices of the LCIA, more commonly used for commercial arbitration. This…

Arbitration Awards, Commercial Arbitration, North America

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 1369 (2008) has provoked substantial commentary – as with many Supreme Court decisions regarding arbitration. The Hall Street decision held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) did not permit parties contractually to expand the grounds for vacating or…