Arbitration

Arbitration, BIT, Cybersecurity, Energy

(Vinson & Elkins LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Young ITA

The 6th Annual Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration, co-hosted by the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), the Institute for Energy Law (IEL), and the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), took place on January 24-25, 2019, in Houston, Texas. Under the guidance of conference co-chairs Andrew T. Clarke (ExxonMobil…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Cost allocation mechanisms, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Evidence, Vis Moot, Willem C. Vis Moot

(University of Aberdeen)/ /Leave a comment

The admissibility of illegal evidence in international commercial arbitration is for sure, at the moment, a widely discussed topic among law students and arbitration lawyers thanks to this year’s problem at the Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition (“Vis Moot Problem”). The Kluwer Arbitration Blog (“KAB”) covered the topic extensively as well in…

Arbitration, arbitrator-party relationship, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Lex Arbitri, Liability, Switzerland

(Ellex Valiunas )/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Without any doubt, international commercial arbitration found its place in the system of international dispute settlement. Many natural and legal persons choose to solve their disputes via the means of arbitration and in most of the cases arbitration is international in many aspects: Parties are from different countries, arbitrators are of different nationalities, sitting in…

Arbitration, Arbitrators, Belgium, UNCITRAL Model Law

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Background The Dutch-speaking division of the Brussels Enterprise Court has been understaffed in recent years. On 5 February 2019, the Court’s president issued a press release (here) revealing rather troublesome news that, imminently, the Court will comprise only six full time judges and hearings will be delayed by some two years. The Brussels Enterprise Court is…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Nigeria, Third party funding

(The University of Adelaide)/ /Leave a comment

Matters Arising on Proposed Changes to Arbitration Law in Nigeria In February 2018, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria passed the much-anticipated Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2017 (‘Bill’). Since then, the Bill has been pending before the House of Representatives (HoR) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the second…

Africa, Arbitration, Third party funding

(G. Elias & Co)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction This post addresses the topical issue of Third-Party Funding (“TPF”) in relation to Nigeria-seated arbitrations, and posits in variance with recent work on the subject that there is no extant law prohibiting TPF in Nigeria-seated arbitrations. This post points out that there has been an apparent misapplication of the common law principles of champerty and…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Courts, India

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A legal regime which asks the victim of a frivolous legal proceeding to subsidise the costs of the perpetrator is unjust and is bound to provide incentives for more frivolous proceedings. For a long time, Indian arbitration law had been providing such incentives for a party to make frivolous objections to the arbitration agreement or…

Arbitration, BIT, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform, Multilateral Investment Court

, (Hanotiau & van den Berg)/ /Leave a comment

On 22 November 2018, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation hosted a High Level Event on the Reform of Investment Protection. Distinguished panellists from arbitral institutions, international organisations, academia, civil society, arbitration users and legal practitioners presented diverse views on the need for reform of the system of investor-State dispute…

Arbitration, Joinder, Third Party, UAE Federal Arbitration Law, United Arab Emirates

(Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East) LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In June 2018, the long awaited UAE Federal Arbitration Law (Law No. 6 of 2018) entered into force, repealing the arbitration specific provisions (“UAE Arbitration Chapter”) contained in the UAE Civil Procedure Code (Law No. 11 of 1992). Whilst it is fair to say that the new UAE Federal Arbitration Law failed overall to meet…

Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitral Award, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Europe, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Public Policy, Turkey, Uncategorized

, (Baysal & Demir Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

The Public Policy Exception as an Unruly Horse There is an ongoing quest for a uniform application of the New York Convention. However, the interpretation of the exceptions to enforcement still varies. Albeit applying the same provisions, national courts continue to adopt different approaches to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This is particularly true…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, Evidence, International arbitration, Scope of an arbitration agreement

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

This is the 1st part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) published in 2018. Consent to Arbitrate In two decisions, the Supreme Court dealt with the validity of an arbitration agreement under Swiss law. It set aside both awards – two of rather…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Enforcement, Jura Novit Arbiter, Res Judicata, Success Fee

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

This is the 2nd part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) published in 2018.   Jura Novit Arbiter In the decision 4A_525/2017 of 9 August 2018, published on 26 September 2018, the Supreme Court dealt with the principle of jura novit arbiter, controversial…

Africa, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, ICSID, Investment Arbitration

(Reed Smith)/ /Leave a comment
AfricArb

Foreign Direct Investment into Africa has increased from $10 billion in 19991)UNCTAD, World Investment Report (2000), p. 40. to $41,8 billion in 2017.2)UNCTAD, World Investment Report (2018), p. 38. Makhtar Diop, former World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, pointed out that “Intra-African investment is also on the rise, creating a virtuous circle”.3)M. Diop,…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Estoppel, Ordre Public, Russia

, (Khrenov & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recently ruled that initiation of a second arbitration from the same contract violates the principle of legal certainty which forms part of the Russian ordre public (Ruling of the Supreme Court of Russian Federation dated 27.09.2017 docket number N 310-ЭС17-5655, А54-3603/2016). The reasoning of the decision is comparable to the…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Industry, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Investment Arbitration

(Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

Over the last couple of decades, arbitration, its practical aspects, but also its very notion, have faced severe attacks from a variety of critics: politicians, members of civil society, users, etc. While arbitration practitioners are actively tackling many areas of reform, the majority of these denunciations appear, for the most part, biased and overly simplistic….

Arbitration, Choice of Law, Cognitive biases, Rationality

(Swiss International Law School (SiLS))/ /Leave a comment

We often mislead ourselves into believing that, by arriving at a certain contract decision, we have carefully considered all available options, weighed up the pros and cons of each attribute dispassionately, and selected the most favourable outcome, i.e. the one which maximises our welfare in the transaction. Regretfully, however, we are seldom cognisant of the…

Anti-suit injunction, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Egypt, Enforcement

(Shehata & Partners, Maastricht University)/ /1 Comment

In May 2018, the Cairo Court of Appeals issued an intriguing judgment concerning the enforcement of an arbitral interim measure. In the words of the Court, the arbitral tribunal has issued a procedural order against Damietta International Ports (“DIP”) ordering the latter to refrain from suing the guarantor bank regarding the liquidation of a letter…

2018 In Review, Arbitration, Australia, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, ISDS, ISDS Reform, New Zealand

(Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

Last year was a busy one for arbitration practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and 2019 looks set to be even busier. In 2018, both countries initiated a range of arbitration reforms, initiatives and negotiations which give insights into the likely general direction of travel for both countries in the coming year. This post focusses…

2018 In Review, Africa, Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration institution

(Equanimity Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

The year of 2018 has seen arbitration as a dispute resolution forum in the resource rich continent of Africa pendulum between boosting countries in the region as a seat of arbitration and reinforcing court sovereignty in disputes. The year began with optimism in the wake of the OHADA reforms. In late 2017, the Organization for…

Arbitration, Arbitration Pledge, Diversity, ICDR

(New York International Arbitration Center)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Begin at the Beginning On November 28, Rapper Jay-Z filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court pertaining to an ongoing arbitration administered by the AAA-ICDR.  He sought (i) a temporary restraining order to halt Iconix from pursuing claims in arbitration; (ii) a preliminary injunction staying arbitration for a period of ninety days for the parties…

Arbitration, Artificial Intelligence, GDPR

(Sciences Po Arbitration Society)/ /Leave a comment

On the 5th of December 2018, the stake of arbitration amidst the technological evolution was in the spotlight; Sciences Po Law School hosted the first conference of the Arbitration X Technology saga, organized by the Sciences Po Arbitration Society (SPAS), under the framework of the LL.M in Transnational Arbitration and Dispute Settlement (T.A.D.S). The former…

Arbitration, Interview

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

On 23 October, Gary Born participated in a Fireside Chat titled “How to Become a Star in International Arbitration in Five (Easy?) Steps, and is it Still Possible?”. The interview took place in Moscow and was conducted by Sergey Usoskin of Double Bridge Law, and Mikhail Kalinin of Norton Rose Fulbright. It was moderated by Alexandra…

Appellate Body, Arbitration, Dispute Settlement, GATT, International Trade Agreements, Trade, WTO

(University of Sharjah (UAE))/ /Leave a comment

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was born on January 1, 1995 and its Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) provides a binding means for WTO members to resolve disputes arising under WTO agreements.  This post summarizes WTO DSU dispute settlement and considers, whether in light of recent developments, article 25…

Appeal, Arbitration, BIT, Crimea, India, ISDS, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a marked departure from its usual closed-doors policy, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) recently held public deliberations in two separate appeal proceedings concerning foreign investment arbitrations. In both cases, a public deliberation by all five judges of the first civil chamber was necessitated due to the lack of unanimity among the…