Overview At the end of 2018, the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Court published its “Review of Cases Related to the Functions of Assistance and Control in Relation to Arbitration and International Commercial Arbitration” (“Review”). The 51-page Review was dedicated to issues that the Russian courts have faced while hearing cases arising from domestic and…

Introduction Each spring, the global international arbitration community arrives in Vienna for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and in Hong Kong for its younger counterpart, the Vis Moot East.  Students, after many months of research, drafting, and practice, are eager to present the fruits of their hard work through oral advocacy.  Practitioners,…

Arbitral institutions commonly offer model arbitration clauses for parties to incorporate into their contracts. Gary Born has stated that “[i]n the overwhelming majority of cases, … international arbitration agreements are straightforward exercises, adopting either entirely or principally the model, time-tested clauses of a leading arbitral institution.”1) Gary B. Born, International Commercial Arbitration 212 (2d ed….

Since the inaugural programme in 2014, arbitration practitioners from the MENA region and beyond have come together to share and discuss recent developments in the field of international arbitration during the Dubai Arbitration Week, an annual event that takes place in November. Dubai Arbitration Week 2018 was no exception. It was full of seminars, conferences,…

In February 2018, the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court of the City of Moscow issued a ruling1) Ruling of the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court of the City of Moscow dated 8 February 2018, case No. A40-176466/17-83-1232. denying the recognition and enforcement of an ICC award issued in favor of Dredging and Maritime Management SA (Luxembourg) against JSC Inzhtransstroy…

Introduction: Two of the most frequent buzz words in our world right now are without doubt: Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). Both technologies have definitely grabbed the attention of the international arbitration community, however, most of the current literature contemplates far-fetched scenarios and how these technologies can revolutionize the world of international arbitration. These articles…

In a recent decision, Turkey’s Court of Cassation refused to enforce an arbitration clause in an English language contract between a Turkish party and a foreign party based on Turkey’s national language requirement for commercial enterprises, the Code on the Mandatory Usage of the Turkish Language in Commercial Enterprises No. 805 (“Law No. 805”). The…

Part I   Over recent years we have seen an uptick in requests to insert arbitration clauses in derivatives and other financial product documentation, and most particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Indeed, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), which is responsible for producing the most widely-used industry template of the master agreement, has…

On May 21st, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (“Epic Systems”) held in a 5-4 majority that one-on-one mandatory arbitration agreements imposed by employers upon their employees must be enforced as written in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). The majority opinion, written by Justice Neil…

This post focuses on two decisions issued by the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice in the Corporación LSR case. The decisions constitute an unexpected change in the approach of the Supreme Court towards arbitration, deviating from its latest and vastly commented case law regarding commercial arbitration matters. Background The dispute in Corporación LSR arose out…

The need to attract foreign oil & gas investment due to the current low price in Latin American countries is creating an environment were once non-friendly arbitration jurisdictions are increasingly accepting international arbitration clauses for complex landmark deals. This trend is being used within Stock Purchase Agreements of Mixed Oil Companies, Prepaid Oil Agreements when…

Introduction It is not unusual that parties to FAI arbitration proceedings raise various jurisdictional objections before the Finland Arbitration Institute (“FAI”) and, provided that FAI will nonetheless allow the arbitration to proceed, subsequently also before the arbitral tribunal. Such objections come in all shapes and sizes. For example, respondent may dispute the existence of an…

Businesses that are party to an arbitration agreement governed by Nevada law should understand that a little-known Nevada statute renders these agreements unenforceable if a contract lacks so-called “specific authorization” indicating that a person affirmatively assented to the arbitration provision itself. While the Nevada Supreme Court has applied this rule to invalidate arbitration agreements, a…

In K.V.C. Rice Intertrade Co Ltd v Asian Mineral Resources Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 32, the Singapore High Court enforced so-called “bare” arbitration clauses, i.e., clauses that specify neither the place of arbitration nor the means of appointing arbitrators. In Singapore, the President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration is designated as the statutory appointing…

In TMT Co Ltd v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2017] SGHC 21, the Singapore High Court took the view that an arbitration clause did not meet the prima facie standard to warrant a stay of court proceedings because it designated an inapplicable arbitral institution. Commentators have suggested that the decision is “surprising” and…

The Member States of the European Union (“EU”) had a task that a very few has managed to complete: to implement the Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 (“Damages Directive” or “Directive”) by 27 December 2017. According to the website of the EU Commission, only ten Member…

Introduction In BCY v BCZ [2016] SGHC 249, the High Court of Singapore found that parties could not be bound by an arbitration agreement that was part of an unexecuted underlying contract. This post examines the analysis taken by the Singapore High Court vis-à-vis the Swiss Supreme Court, in a similar fact pattern.   The…

The question of the validity of an arbitration clause incorporated by reference is debatable in international arbitration. The approach of national courts to the issue varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (e.g., see here). The Russian Law on International Arbitration (1993) is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. In particular, the Law provides in Article 7…

Arbitration is a creature of contract, and hence one may say that any claim or dispute submitted to arbitration must relate to a contract where the relevant arbitration clause is laid down. In contrast, tort claims do not normally arise from a prior contractual relationship. Broad arbitration clauses classically say that “any and all disputes…

Under the Swedish law, when the parties failed to choose the applicable law, their arbitration agreement is governed by the law of the seat of the arbitration, provided that the parties have specified the seat in their agreement. That much is clear. However, when the parties have not stipulated a seat in their agreement, there…

Parties entering into related contracts should carefully consider how future disputes ought to be resolved. This post will look at a recent Hong Kong decision in Bluegold Investment Holdings Limited v Kwan Chun Fun Calvin [2016] HKEC 532 (“Bluegold Case”) involving the construction of inconsistent dispute resolution clauses in related contracts. We will also discuss how…

and Rômulo Greff Mariani, Souto Correa Cesa Lummertz & Amaral Advogados The enforceability of arbitration clauses in the bylaws of companies set up under Brazilian law has long been a source of controversy. The topic is now in the spotlight with the notorious In Re Petrobras Securities Litigation, a class action filed before the US…

Regular readers of this Blog will be aware of the DIFC Court’s adoption of Practice Direction No. 2 of 2015 on the Referral of Payment Judgment Disputes to Arbitration (“PD 2 of 2015”) earlier this year (for contemporaneous reporting see my previous blog). As the title of the Direction suggests, it essentially allows judgment creditors…

On 24 June 2015, the Australian Productivity Commission released its eighteenth Trade and Assistance Review 2013-14. The Commission is an independent research and advisory body, with statutory authority to report annually on the economic impacts of Australia’s international trade policy. As readers of this blog may recall, in previous years the Commission’s Review has influenced…