Fellow Kluwer arbitration blogger, Duarte Henriques, recently started a Facebook page dedicated to discussing topical issues in international arbitration. The page regularly features “memes” all aspects of the practice. Below are a few. When international arbitration meets social media, no one is spared. – – – – – – – – – – – –…
The Russian company law is contained in three main sources: in Chapter 4 of the Russian Civil Code, and two special laws – on joint-stock companies (AOs) of 25.12.1995 and on limited liability companies (OOOs) of 08.02.1998 – both based on the Civil Code. The prevailing part of the company law contained in the Civil…
One of the main and well known advantages of arbitration is the speed of the proceedings. In order to enhance their timeliness and efficiency, the Rules of some arbitral institutions (e.g. Art. 33 of the ICC Rules) provide for the so called “scrutiny of the award” – a procedure of formal examination of the draft…
The Report of the International Finance Corporation [IFC] “Investing Across Borders” for the year 2010 outlined that a stable, predictable arbitration regime, as a part of broader framework for the rule of law, is one of the factors that drive foreign investment and it should be country’s top priority. Despite the fact that reforming an…
On July 18, 2014 the Cassation Court – the highest court in Armenia, in the case EKD/1910/02/13 delivered a decision (“Decision”) which paralyzed the whole arbitration system in the country. In the mentioned case the Cassation Court (“Court”) needed to answer a question whether an arbitral tribunal was entitled to decide the matter of invalidity…
„The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority […]. They contradict their parents […] and tyrannize their teachers.“ This complaint sounds familiar, but the quote is actually attributed to Socrates. As every generation after him seems to have had the same sensation, children’s behaviour must have constantly deteriorated over the last…
The New Amparo Law in Mexico introduced a revised concept of “responsible authority”, under which arbitrators might be considered as authorities for amparo claim purposes. Such new concept poses some interrogations: Does it threatens arbitration in Mexico? Would arbitration withstand the pounding? Would the parties’ agreement to arbitrate be enforced? Would the courts stand up…
In 2012, Russian art collector Dmitry Rybolovlev acquired a painting made by Amedeo Modigliani, an Italian artist whose work from the early 20th century is regularly sold for record prices, from art dealer Yves Bouvier for an amount of no less than US $ 118 million. Two years later, Rybolovlev learned by chance that Bouvier…
Co-authored with William Kenny, Intern at HKIAC A View from Inside A foreword by Victor Dumler, Dumler and Partners Law Offices, St Petersburg. Over the last two decades, Russia-related disputes have become a considerable part of “Russia’s export” into Western Europe. Yet, after more than a year living under the sanctions regime, the situation is…
Under sec 1 of the RF Law on International Commercial Arbitration 5338-1 of 07.07.1993, disputes arising from civil, including corporate, relationships may be referred to international commercial arbitration, unless otherwise provided by law. However, there is no such restriction provided. In some cases, such as Novolipetsk Still Mill (NLMK) v. Nikolay Maksimov (Decrees of the…
While everyone has been watching with fascination the ups and downs of the Greek crisis, colleagues have been busy in the background trying to unravel some core components of the Greek Bailouts. The PSI deal, which is largely responsible for passing the burden of any potential Greek default from private hands onto public coffers, has…
Co-authored with Maria Laura Marceddu, Italian Association for Arbitration (AIA) The Public Consultations launched by the European Commission in March 2014, and the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership [TTIP], in July 2015, have revealed a widespread criticism against the traditional investment arbitration system. Mighty…
The Swedish Arbitration Act [“Act”] is currently under review. In 2014, 15 years after the Act first entered into force, a committee was given the task of assessing how well it has worked in practice and how it measures up internationally. According to the committee’s terms of reference, the primary motivation behind the review is…
The 2015 International Arbitration Survey is out. Subtitled “Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration,” the most recent effort by Queen Mary / White & Case has a lot to say about efforts to date to improve the practice and what more can be done. The survey’s methodology and sample size have themselves been the subject…
This is the second part of a post related to arbitration and antitrust follow-on damages claims in Europe. Part 1, which addressed problems of jurisdiction ratione materiae that arise in relation to follow-on damages claims, is accessible here. Part 2 of this commentary addresses additional challenges and opportunities that warrant attention when the possibility of…
This post, which will be presented in two parts, proposes to pick-up on a subject addressed in an earlier commentary posted by R. Bellinghausen and J. Grothaus regarding the CJEU’s decision in CDC v. Akzo Nobel et al [See Judgment C-352/13]. As highlighted in the earlier post, the CJEU’s recent decision raises a number of questions…
for YSIAC In an age of ever-increasing complexity, where your watch can open your garage and answer your phone (yes, the Apple watch can really do that), many of us in the international arbitration community have lost sight of the most powerful weapon in the advocate’s toolbox: simplicity. A previous post on this blog eloquently…
Choice of dispute resolution mechanism is crucial in drafting and negotiation of financial transactions. Usually lenders insist on having their preference inserted into the financial agreement and this is why dispute resolution clauses in such transactions reflect primarily the interests of lenders, and lenders seek efficient settlement of disputes. Traditionally large international banks and other…
Treaty shopping, also called corporate (re-)structuring, is most often associated with legal persons, in particular mailbox companies. Much discussed in this respect is the practice of “round-tripping” where the investor-claimant is foreign-incorporated, but majority-controlled by natural or legal persons of host State nationality (see e.g. Tokios Tokeles v Ukraine, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/18, Decision on…
Background At the end of June 2015, the London Court of International Arbitration issued three new guidance notes to accompany its 2014 arbitration rules. The guidance notes, entitled: “Notes for Parties”, “Notes for Arbitrators”, and “Notes on Emergency Procedures” are available on the institution’s website. In issuing the guidance notes, the LCIA has followed in…
By Order of 11 May 2015 (unpublished) in Case No. ARB 005/2014 – A v. B, Justice Sir David Steel of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance dismissed an application made by an award debtor to set aside an order granted by the DIFC Court on 8 January 2015 (unpublished) for…
In a recent ruling of the DIFC Court of First Instance (CFI 043/2014 – DNB Bank ASA v. (1) Gulf Eyadah Corporation (2) Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC, ruling of the DIFC Court of First Instance of 2nd July 2015), H.E. Justice Ali Al Madhani, one of the UAE-national resident judges of the DIFC Courts, drew…
At the CIARB’s London centenary conference earlier this month, the Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, cautioned that: “we should remain mindful that there is no place for complacency or reason to assume that [the] international system of dispute resolution which so many have invested so much in, will continue on its recent trajectory…
On 5 November 2014, the French Cour de Cassation, overruled a decision of the Paris Court of Appeal for having reversed the burden of proof in a case involving a non-participating party. With this victory before the French Supreme Court, Yukos Capital (“Yukos”) is one step closer to the enforcement of an arbitral award against…
