This is a follow-up post that updates on developments in the escalating tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over hydrocarbon explorations in the Mediterranean Sea. In the previous post it was argued that the Italian oil company ENI could launch an arbitration against Turkey under the Italy-Turkey Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in the aftermath of the…

Goethe’s famous journey along the Italian peninsula left humanity a collection of verses that still make him the most notorious German author worldwide. Amongst others, he expressed his fascination for the country in these few lines: “Do you know the land where lemon blossom grows? / Amid dark leaves the golden orange glows. /A gentle…

This is the 1st part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) issued in 2019.   Arbitrability In the decisions 4A_244/2019 and 4A_246/2019 of 12 December 2019, the Supreme Court dealt with the issue of arbitrability. In two arbitrations brought before a tribunal…

This is the 2nd part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) issued in 2019.   Ne Eat Arbiter Extra Petita In the decision 4A_294/2019 / 4A_296/2019 of 13 November 2019, the Supreme Court dealt with an extra petita appeal against an ICC-award….

The Finland Chamber of Commerce has recently revised its Arbitration Rules and the Rules for Expedited Arbitration to address the growing demands of the competitive world of commercial arbitration, as reported by the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce ( “FAI” or the “Institute”) in its article from December 2019. The revised Rules,…

Consolidation of arbitral proceedings is commonly regarded as a procedural device designed to deal with the challenges associated with complex cases. It is a method that combines multiple proceedings and harmonizes the final outcome of the disputes that bear significant resemblance, thus eradicating the risk of having contradictory awards rendered on a closely related set…

For a number of years, most Hungarian domain name disputes have been decided by an Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum (hereinafter: ‘Forum’) operated by the Council of Hungarian Internet Providers (‘Internet Szolgáltatók Tanácsa’, abbreviated as ‘ISZT’). Although the procedure conforms to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names…

The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Macau”) has seen a dramatic decrease of foreign direct investment in the last few years. According to data from the Macau Statistics and Census Service, foreign direct investment dropped 79.9% in 2017 compared to 2016. In order to attract more investment, Macau needs to…

Nkiru Agbu is the winner of the 2020 Kluwer Arbitration Quiz. Nkiru spent New Year’s Day researching the Quiz in order to be the first to submit the correct answers. Now that’s passion for international arbitration! Nkiru won a very special prize for her correct answers for which she will be contacted. In addition to…

Alejandro, thank you for joining us on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog! We are delighted to have the opportunity to interview you at a time when the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and its modernisation are on the spotlight. Alejandro is the current General Counsel and Head of the Conflict Resolution Centre at the ECT Secretariat, which…

In 2019, the Swiss Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) seized two opportunities to confirm and develop its existing case law in relation to the personal scope of arbitration agreements and their possible extension to non-signatories.   Extension to Non-Signatories under the New York Convention In a first decision, ATF 145 III 199, dated 17 April 2019,…

2019 has seen a series of important arbitration-related developments for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. This post highlights selected key arbitration developments in these States from the past 12 months. It focuses on several domestic arbitration law reform efforts and on important developments in respect of investor-State arbitration.   Domestic Arbitration: Legal Developments and…

Should odd domestic arbitration practices be forgot, and never brought to mind!   Planning to be more international in the coming decade? Just in time for your New Years resolutions, we have the 2020 Kluwer Arbitration New Years Quiz.  This year, the blog’s editors have helped assemble questions about domestic arbitration practices from around the…

The year 2019 has seen some important legislative and case law developments in the European jurisdictions and Kluwer Arbitration Blog, as always, has been closely monitoring the developments on the ground.   I. Summary of Important Legislative Developments   a) Sweden: Aligning Arbitration Law with International Developments and Eliminating Duplicate Proceedings In March 2019, a…

It has now become a tradition that in December of each year, Kluwer Arbitration Blog offers you several posts with a retrospective of the year in specific regions and fields. We also take this opportunity to present ourselves and thank you for your immense support, as readers and contributors. Entering a New Year has also…

As discussed in our previous post (available here), Polish civil procedure, including arbitration law (contained in Part V of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure or ‘CCP’) has undergoing significant changes. This post focuses on those amendments that substantially modify the legal framework for arbitration of corporate disputes.   Problems with the Arbitrability of Shareholder…

Polish civil procedure is in the midst of a very significant makeover. The bulk of amendments came into effect on 7 November 2019 (the Polish version of the amending act to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) is available here). This blog post discusses the nature of those amendments and their significance for arbitration….

2019 has been a busy year for international arbitration in Sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, the year has brought an interesting wave of precedents, new domestic statutes, modern international investment agreements, and arbitration events. This post highlights and summarises some of the African developments covered in the Blog in 2019, with many thanks to the authors who…

The swift and far-reaching development experienced by arbitration in Spain over the past few decades is unprecedented in the context of other arbitration-friendly jurisdictions. In little more than 40 years, a fully-fledged arbitration system was set up virtually from scratch. In 1977 Spain ratified the New York Convention without reservation, thus entering the international arbitration…

On 24 October 2019, the European Commission announced that the EU Member States have reached agreement on a plurilateral treaty for the termination of all ca. 190 intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The agreement follows the political Declarations of the Member States issued in January this year in which they explained the consequences they are…

Under French law, the principle is that both a request to set aside an award and an appeal of a decision upholding enforcement (ordonnance d’exequatur) have no suspensive effect (Article 1526(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, ‘CCP’), so that an international arbitral award is immediately enforceable. However, as an exception, stay or adjustment of…

Interesting developments in disputes involving Venezuela and its national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) took place after Juan Guaidò, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, took the interim Presidency of the State in January 2019. Since then, he has adopted a series of measures and intervened in a series of proceedings involving…

Located in the heart of Brussels, Europe’s capital and home to international organisations such as NATO, CEPANI, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation, was founded on 25 September 1969. At that time, Belgium had just acceded to the Geneva Convention and was exploring ways to update its obsolete legal arbitration framework. Much has changed…

On September 25, 2019, a program on “Career Paths in Arbitration” took place in Boston, MA, at Harvard University.  The program was sponsored and organized by ArbitralWomen, Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (“YAWP”) and the Boston International Arbitration Council (“BIAC”).  The event was supported by the United States Council for International Business (“USCIB”), the Harvard International Arbitration…