As Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2019 hits the midway point, we asked three next-generation arbitration practitioners: how do you see the future of arbitration in Hong Kong? These are their answers: Joyce Leung: As a construction lawyer, I am seeing an increase in arbitrations arising from the construction sector in light of the completion of…
Introduction With less than a month to go before the latest EU-UK divorce date, the UK Supreme Court resumed its hearing in Micula et al. v Romania 2018/0177, relating to the enforcement of the widely discussed ICSID award against Romania. With the UK grappling with its future relationship with the EU, it is interesting timing…
In the recent judgment of AIC Limited v The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria [2019] EWHC 2212, the English High Court adjourned the decision to enforce a Nigerian arbitral award in exercise of its discretion pursuant to section 103(5) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (which gives effect to Article VI of the New York Convention)…
One effective way to manage risk allocation and especially political risk in state contracts consists of delegating dispute resolution and contract interpretation to arbitrators. With the aim to entice more private investors to develop infrastructure, Brazil has taken one positive step to expressly allow arbitration in public contracts concluded in these sectors. On 20 September…
On August 26, 2019, Brazil’s President sanctioned Statute # 13.867/2019, which inserts provisions in the Brazilian expropriation for public utility statute (Federal Decree 3.365/41). One of the most innovative provision of Brazil’s new law is the possibility of submitting disputes related to expropriations to mediation and arbitration, according to Brazil’s mediation Statute and arbitration Statute….
In 2012, the Commercial District Court in Bijeljina (‘CDC’) finally declared that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute between Elektrogospodarstvo Slovenije (‘Claimant’) on one side, and Rudnik i termelektrana Ugljevik A.D. (’Respondent’) on the other (Case reference no. 59 0 Ps 018507 12 Ps 3), with the High Commercial Court in Banja Luka (‘HCC’)…
A 2018 decision rendered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al. v. GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp has recently put on the agenda of the U.S. Supreme Court the interpretation of the “in writing” requirement under Article II(2) of the New York Convention…
The topic of precedent in international arbitration is not an idle one. It is widely accepted that the existence and use of precedent in any legal system leads to predictability, consistency and equality of treatment. Indeed, one of the eight strands that according to the late Lord Bingham (as summarised by Lord Neuberger) make up…
Recently, focus has been brought upon the use of international arbitration to solve human rights abuses caused by businesses (“BHR Arbitration“). Disputes involving human rights violations often occur between parties of unequal financial means and commercial sophistication, and in countries which cannot offer an efficient and free from corruption judicial system. Arbitration has the potential…
Introduction There have, more recently, been a number of views on the proper scope of the jurisdiction of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) as an arbitral seat. According to one view, there are no limitations to the scope of arbitration in the ADGM, according to another, more cautious view, arbitration in the ADGM requires…
The interplay between the principle of party autonomy and procedural flexibility in arbitration greatly accounts for the growth of international arbitration as the preferred method of dispute resolution for cross-border commercial disputes. The growing trend of this preference is reflected in the most recent International Arbitration Survey conducted by the School of International Arbitration at…
Introduction Party autonomy is the underlining principle of arbitration. The courts ought to have it in mind whenever they are called upon to intervene in matters related to arbitration. The right of parties to resolve their dispute by arbitration must be upheld and given effect to. When the judiciary acts to give effect to this…
The modern business world strives to increase efficiency – and the use of modern IT systems is a key tool in that regard. One would thus expect that arbitration, which aims to resolve disputes efficiently, would jump at the many opportunities offered by modern IT technology to truly digitalise dispute resolution. But progress has been…
States can regulate as part of their sovereignty and can give away a part of their regulatory freedom by making commitments to foreign investors, such as the obligation to compensate investors for expropriation. Unless a treaty removes or modifies a particular norm of international law, international law on expropriation, including customary law, should apply. The…
On 7-8 June 2019, the ninth (Romanian) National Conference on Commercial Law in Cluj-Napoca was organized by the Department for Company Law and Corporate Governance of the Law Faculty of the University Babeş-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), together with the Center for Commercial Law of the West University of Timişoara (Romania), supported by the Romanian National…
Background The ICC Commission on Arbitration has recently published a report on Emergency Arbitrator (“EA”) Proceedings (“Report”) that promises to “offer guidance to users, counsel and EAs to facilitate the use of EA proceedings through increased transparency and predictability”. The Report analyses the 80 cases in which the ICC EA procedures have been used in…
Disputes, particularly arbitration, has been predominated by the old pale male. Diversity, though a hot topic, is something that the arbitration field is still striving to achieve. What many would like to see is that all people, male or female, are appointed whether as an arbitrator or a counsel based on their credentials. However, as…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Lucy Greenwood, Revisiting Bifurcation and Efficiency in International Arbitration Proceedings In 2011, the author published an analysis of available empirical data on bifurcation of disputes in this journal. The article, ‘Does Bifurcation Really…
Mediation and arbitration are often categorized as separate and distinct fields for good reason. Arbitration is an adjudicative process; mediation, on the other hand, is more accommodating, dependent on negotiation among parties. There is a formality attached to arbitration that one usually does not find in mediation. While the arbitration process is prescribed by rules,…
For the first time, the High Court held in its decision in the Rinehart dispute that the ordinary principles of contractual interpretation must be applied when interpreting the scope of arbitration clauses. While this approach is consistent with modern contractual interpretation, it may deter parties from selecting Australian law to govern arbitration agreements. This post…
On 23 May 2019, the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce (FAI) hosted the 15th IFCAI Biennial Conference in Helsinki. The International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI) organises the “IFCAI Biennial Conference” every two years in cooperation with an IFCAI member arbitration institution. This year it was hosted by the FAI in lieu…
The main concerns of parties when considering arbitration are the costs and length of arbitration proceedings (see, e.g., Queen Mary University of London 2018 International Arbitration Survey). The popularity of arbitration as a method of resolving construction disputes thus depends largely on whether costs can be reduced and efficiency maintained. This is particularly the case…
During the London International Dispute Week in May this year (which was covered at the Kluwer Arbitration Blog in depth, see here), a panel on “energy disputes in a disruptive world” focused on the increasing prevalence of claims against energy companies in relation to climate change or for involvement in human rights impacts. I had…
In June 2019, the Spanish Arbitration Club (“CEA”) launched a new Code of Best Practices in Arbitration (the “Code”). This post briefly describes the scope of the Code and provides insights on the specific best practices proposed by CEA. The initiative is commendable, as it reflects the CEA community experience and tackles hot topics in…
