Austria

Austria, Corporate disputes, Non-arbitrability, Set aside an arbitral award, Shareholder Resolutions

, (PARAGON Advocacy)/ /Leave a comment

The setting aside of an arbitral award is a rarity in the Austrian legal landscape. However, on 3 April 2024, the Austrian Supreme Court (the “ASC”) issued a landmark decision setting aside an arbitral award on the grounds of non-arbitrability of the subject matter. As explained below, the court’s reasoning is remarkable and its implications…

Austria, Interviews with Our Editors, VIAC

(Stockholm University)/ /1 Comment

Alice, welcome back to Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and thank you for allowing us to continue our previous conversation published here in 2019. This time we would like to focus on ‘Alice Fremuth-Wolf’ as one of the leading personalities of international arbitration who has promoted and implemented modern approaches to arbitration at the Vienna International Arbitral…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Austria, VIAC

, (Vienna International Arbitral Centre-VIAC)/ /Leave a comment

The Vienna International Arbitral Centre (“VIAC”) announces its most recent update to the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation (the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation 2021) taking effect on 1 July 2021. The revision of the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation was triggered by the drafting of the new standalone set of VIAC…

Austria, COVID-19, Due process, Hearings

(WilmerHale & Queen Mary University of London) and , , (WilmerHale)/ /4 Comments

On 23 July 2020, the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) rendered a decision examining whether conducting an arbitration hearing by videoconference over the objection of a party may violate due process (Case No. 18 ONc 3/20s). To the authors’ knowledge, this decision, rendered in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first national supreme court’s…

Austria, Deliberations, Enforcement, Ordre Public, Supreme Court

(Bitterl König Attorneys-at-Law)/ /2 Comments

In a recent decision of November 2019 the Austrian Supreme Court (“OGH” in German) considered whether an arbitral award rendered by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Belarus shall be declared enforceable and emphasized the importance of deliberations in the context of the ordre public standard to reach an enforceable award. In a nutshell,…

Arbitrator Bias, Arbitrators, Austria, Impartiality, Independence and Impartiality, Public Policy, Revision of Award, Set aside an arbitral award, Switzerland

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Like virtually all arbitration laws, the Austrian Arbitration Act is silent on whether the lack of impartiality and independence of an arbitrator may be invoked for the first time in setting aside proceedings in cases where a party becomes aware of the relevant circumstances only after the award was rendered. The Austrian Supreme Court has,…

Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Austria, Interview, Interviews with Our Editors, VIAC

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School) and (University of Aberdeen)/ /Leave a comment

Ms. Fremuth-Wolf, thank you for joining us on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog!  We know that spring is a busy time for the arbitration community in Vienna and we are grateful to have the opportunity to share your unique perspective with our readers, particularly as Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) undertakes important steps to establish itself…

2018 In Review, Austria, DIS, Germany, HKIAC, ICC, ICC Arbitration, ICC Rules, SCC, SIAC, VIAC

(Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

As worldwide competition amongst arbitral institutions continues, the Europe-based arbitral institutions have, thus far, been able to defend their strong market position. Currently, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), with its base in Paris, continues to stand out globally as the most preferred institution by a significant margin (77%). It is followed by the London…

Agency, Arbitration Agreement, Austria

(Konrad & Partners)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

In its decision 6 Ob 195/17w dated 17 January 2018, the Austrian Supreme Court decided that the form requirements for an arbitration agreement also apply to the authorisation to an agent to enter into an arbitration agreement (or a contract containing an arbitration agreement). I. Stopping the movement towards a liberalisation of form requirements Austria…

Austria, BIT, Canada, CETA, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, China-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Corporate Social Responsibility, India, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Norway, TPP

(Herbert Smith Freehills China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre of UNSW Law)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

In the context of the backlash against investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS”), one of the main criticisms is the asymmetric nature of investment treaties, which impose numerous obligations on the States, but do not seem to hold corporations accountable for the social, environmental and economic consequences of their activities. Some recent developments reflect a redirection away…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Austria, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Security for Costs, VIAC

(Zeiler Floyd Zadkovich)/ /1 Comment

Since their inception in 1975, the Vienna Rules (Rules of Arbitration and Mediation of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre) have undergone a number of major reforms keeping them abreast of the fast-moving tides of legal development in international arbitration. The latest revision of the Rules as from 1 January 2018 (previously covered in this blog)…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Austria

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Historic grandeur, impressive architecture, outstanding cultural offerings, natural beauty and diversity, good value for money, beauty, safety, timelessness… Austria truly has a lot going for itself. Yet, should this still not be enough to tempt arbitration users and practitioners around the globe, the new Arbitration and Mediation Rules of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC)…

Arbitration, Austria, Class arbitration, European Law, European Union

(Schoenherr)/ /Leave a comment
Schoenherr

The development of effective instruments for collective redress is a widely discussed topic among European politicians, consumer protectors, legal scholars and dispute resolution lawyers. The professional discourse was recently fuelled by the Volkswagen emission scandal (also referred to as “emissiongate” or “dieselgate”), which, at least in the US, was already subject to collective actions. Another…

Agency, Arbitration, Austria, New York Convention, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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Schoenherr

On 1 March 2017 the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) ruled on whether potential claims under the Austrian Commercial Agents Act (Handelsvertretergesetz) can be brought before an Austrian court even if the underlying agency agreement contains an arbitration clause and is governed by the laws of New York (OGH 1.3.2017, 5 Ob 72/16y). The judgment…

Arbitration, Austria, Transparency

(Schoenherr)/ /1 Comment
Schoenherr

The tug-of-war between transparency and confidentiality was a subject of lively discussions at the 2017 Vienna Arbitration Days. Vienna Arbitration Days is Austria’s leading arbitration conference. Every year, it brings together arbitration practitioners and academics from around the world to discuss ADR developments. The presentations and panel discussions are followed by the “World Café”, which…

Arbitral Award, Austria, Procedure, Public Policy, Reasoning, Set aside an arbitral award

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Schoenherr

The decisive underlying reasoning (motifs, Begründung) is, without doubt, an essential part of any arbitral award and as such bears the potential of frustrating parties and arbitrators alike. On the one hand, elaborate reasoning in arbitral awards more often than not comes at the price of long waiting periods for the issuance of the awards,…

Arbitrator's mandate, Arbitrators, Austria

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Schoenherr

One of the main advantages of arbitration vis-à-vis state court litigation, is that the parties are free to choose independent and highly specialised experts to decide their cases. Yet, if these experts negligently (or even deliberately) violate the duties that come with the acceptance of the appointment, the issue of liability arises. One may think…

Arbitration, Austria, New York Convention, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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Schoenherr

The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“NYC“) was drafted in the spirit and with the purpose of encouraging arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism, by providing for the simple and swift international enforcement of arbitral awards. Today, the NYC’s reach is – with the exception of a few…

Arbitrator's Fees, Arbitrators, Austria

(zeiler.partners Rechtsanwälte GmbH)/ /Leave a comment

In its decision of 17.2.2014, the Austrian Supreme Court decided on a claimant’s request for reimbursement of the portion of the fees advanced to the arbitrator whom it had successfully challenged during ongoing proceedings and on his liability for frustrated costs caused by the challenge and the appointment of a new arbitrator. Further, the claimant…