Arbitrators

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Efficiency, International arbitration, Mediation, Seat of the arbitration

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC“) has recently published its revised Arbitration Rules, which will come into force on 1 May 2012 (the “2012 Rules“). This is the seventh revision of the CIETAC Rules since they were first published in 1956. Whilst the majority of the changes in the 2012 Rules are…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, International arbitration, Other Issues, Suggestions to improve transparency and access to usable data, Transparency in investment arbitrations

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

The views of lawyers involved in international commercial and investment arbitration are being sought for a new international arbitration survey from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL). Conducted by QMUL’s School of International Arbitration and sponsored by White & Case LLP, the 2012 survey aims to examine whether a “harmonised international arbitration procedure is emerging,…

Arbitrators, Disclosure

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Following its June 2011 decision in the case of STMicroelectronics, NV v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, 648 F.3d 68 (2d Cir. 2011), the Second Circuit has again considered the issue of vacating an award due to an arbitrator’s non-disclosure. Earlier this month, the Second Circuit handed down judgment in the case of Scandinavian Reinsurance…

Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrators, Bias

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What makes an international arbitrator different from a national judge? All of us in the arbitration world have a pretty solid answer to this question. At what point do the distinctions between an international arbitrator and an international judge melt away? That’s a bit of a trickier question, depending on the case. With the increase…

Arbitrators, International arbitration, Sport arbitration

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

At its session of 15 November 2011, the International Council of Arbitration for Sports (ICAS) amended Article 14 of the Statutes of the bodies working for the settlement of Sport-related Disputes (Article S14) and abandoned the old regime which provided that with regard to the list of CAS arbitrators, the ICAS had to respect a…

Arbitrators, Confidentiality and Transparency, Enforcement

(The University of Kansas School of Law)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

It is not unusual for retired judges to serve as arbitrators. But what about sitting judges? A number of European countries permit sitting judges to serve as arbitrators. See Gary B. Born, International Commercial Arbitration 1449 (2009); see, e.g., U.K. Arbitration Act 1996, § 93. In the United States, however, ethics rules generally prohibit judges…

Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrators

(Independent Arbitrator)/ /Leave a comment

The recently published abstracts of LCIA Court decisions on arbitrator challenges between 1996 and 2010 (Arbitration International, vol. 27, no. 3, 2011) make surprisingly interesting reading. They are an important reminder of the types of egregious arbitrator conduct that, while fortunately rare, can give the system a bad name unless promptly corrected. At the same…

Arbitrators, Bias, Disclosure, Enforcement, Europe, ICC Arbitration

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP) and (University of Paris Descartes)/ /4 Comments
YIAG

In a decision rendered on 2 November 2011, the Reims Court of Appeal annulled an ICC Award for failure to disclose conflict of interest during proceedings, irrespective of the ICC Rules on challenging arbitrators in the case Avax v. Technimont.1)CA Reims, 2 Novembre 2011, n°. 10/02888 This post considers the latest instalment, the Reims Court…

Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrators

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Arbitration practitioners have traditionally had very little illumination into the outcomes, let alone the reasoning, of arbitrator challenge decisions. Few arbitral institutions set out in writing to the parties the reasons for their challenge decisions, and even fewer institutions have made these decisions available to the larger arbitration community. Past posts on this blog have…

Arbitrators, Legal Practice

(Conway & Partners)/ /1 Comment

Occasional articles, postings, etc come out which discuss the lack of female representation in international arbitration. Perhaps possible reasons are suggested, perhaps only statistics given, but it is still clearly an issue. Beyond talking about it – how can we actually help the situation? In an article from June 2009, Michael Goldhaber noted that in…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Efficiency, ICC Arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Pre-arbitral procedure

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /2 Comments
Herbert Smith Freehills

In an emergency, swift and effective action is required. Yet in international arbitration proceedings, it can take weeks or months to constitute an arbitral tribunal. What options, then, are open to a party in need of urgent interim relief before an arbitral tribunal has been formed? In many circumstances, applying to the national courts of…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Bias, BIT, Class arbitration, Due process, Efficiency, Foreign Investment Law, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Public Policy

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

In its 4 August 2011 Decision on Jurisdiction and Admissibility, the majority of the Tribunal in Abaclat and Others (Case formerly known as Giovanna a Beccara and Others) v. Argentine Republic affirmed that it had jurisdiction to hear the claims of over 60,000 Italian investors against Argentina arising out of Argentina’s default on various sovereign…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Costs in arbitral proceedings

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE)/ /Leave a comment

The ASA seminar on “Arbitral Institutions under Scrutiny” on 9 September in Zurich yielded some interesting insight in the practice of arbitration institutions, and views of well-known practitioners on the problems faced by modern arbitration systems. After the general introduction from ASA President Michael E. Schneider, Lara Bander and Mehtap Tari Hirt, two post-graduate students…

Arbitrators

(Chadbourne & Parke LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

In keeping with the popular saying that ‘a bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit,’ it is not unusual for parties in an arbitration to suspend the proceedings and explore a settlement. Any arbitrator will understand such a move and assume that the parties know best what works for them to achieve a satisfying…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration clause, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Dispute Resolution, Dispute resolution clause, English Law, ICC Arbitration, International arbitration, Ismaili community, Nationality requirement in arbitration clauses, Pro arbitration, Supreme Court

(Allen & Overy LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In this post, we will first deal briefly with the facts in the case of Jivraj v Hashwani and the findings of the first instance judge and the Court of Appeal, which by now would be very familiar to anyone reading this blog. We will then look at the Supreme Court’s judgment ([2011] UKSC 40),…

Annulment, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Commercial Arbitration, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Due process, International arbitration

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

The escalation of costs and delays in international arbitration and the consequent dissatisfaction of the system’s users have become prime subjects for users of and commentators on international arbitration.1)See, for example, Jean-Claude Najar, ‘Inside Out: A User’s Perspective on Challenges in International Arbitration’, Arbitration International, 25 (2009) 515, 517. An informal study by the Corporate…

Anti-arbitration, Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitrators, Costs, Dispute Resolution

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This month marks two interesting developments in arb/med. First, as Kluwer wants you to know, they have added a mediation blog in addition to the arbitration blog. Well, it’s about time. Second, September heralds the much celebrated debut of the ICC’s new “Arbitration and ADR Rules”, at least for people who celebrate such things. As…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitrators, Ismaili community

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /2 Comments
Herbert Smith Freehills

The Supreme Court has arrived at what almost all arbitration practitioners and clients will view as the right result in the strange episode of Jivraj v Hashwani. The Supreme Court has unanimously allowed the appeal on the basis that an arbitrator is not an employee of the parties for the purposes of the Employment Equality…

Applicable Law, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitration Quiz, Arbitrators, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Expedited arbitration, Joinder, Jurisdiction, Mediation

(MDisputes)/ /Leave a comment

Last week’s summer quiz on international arbitration and mediation provoked a happy flurry of answers from around the world from a broad range of practitioners. Before we get to the answers, here are some interesting observations from the empirical data that we unintentionally gathered. Conclusive Empirical Data about International Arbitration and Mediation Practitioners (“Practitioners”) As…

Applicable Law, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitration Quiz, Arbitrators, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Expedited arbitration, Joinder, Jurisdiction, Mediation

(MDisputes)/ /Leave a comment

If you live or work somewhere in the northern half of the planet, odds are that at some point this summer you’ll find yourself on a beach, cityscape, mountain, or other scenic destination surrounded with children relaxedly drawing on their coloring pads, and grandparents working attentively at their crossword. What about those of us who…

Annulment, Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, arbitrators’ conduct, Bias, International arbitration

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

CIETAC’s Vice Chairman and Secretary General recently announced at a conference in London that CIETAC may soon permit parties to select arbitrators from outside the CIETAC list. As the CIETAC Rules currently allow parties to appoint off-list only if they have agreed to do so, this announcement suggests that CIETAC may in the future allow…

Anti-arbitration, Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration

(MDisputes)/ /3 Comments

I write this post on a train on the way home from a seminar held by the Milan Chamber of Arbitration (CAM) to introduce a new rule and guidelines that could be seen as a necessary next step in the trend towards greater efficiency in arbitration. Before commenting on where these new developments might take…