On 23 October 2023, the English High Court handed down a landmark decision setting aside a USD 11 billion arbitral award (the final award) obtained by a British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) company, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (“P&ID”), against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Judge upheld Nigeria’s challenge of the arbitral award on the…
2023 stands out as a pivotal year marked by substantial advancements in arbitration across the African continent. Despite global challenges such as the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and projections of a slow recovery in Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) in the continent, African practitioners have demonstrated unwavering resilience and commitment to propelling the field…
Corruption is a sensitive issue for international merchants. According to the Transparency International’s report “Exporting Corruption”, enforcement against foreign bribery has dropped to its lowest level since it first began measuring it in 2009, which is alarming and reinforces the need for attention in arbitral proceedings. In international sales contracts, one should consider the consequences…
After two years of absence due to COVID-19, the Dutch Arbitration Association held its eighth conference on 2 June 2022 in Amsterdam. The main theme of this year’s conference was fraud and corruption in arbitration. This blog reflects the main issues of the keynote speech and the panel debates of the conference. We will not…
Corruption has been a hot topic in investor-state arbitration in recent years. This is particularly the case in situations where Claimant investors are alleged to have procured their original investment through bribery, which, if proven, may lead to tribunals denying their claims, especially under ICSID. Many commentators have focused on legal aspects such as the…
2019 was a lively year for international arbitration in Latin America – especially in the international commercial arbitration arena, which is the focus of this post. Contributors to Kluwer Arbitration Blog reported mostly on favorable developments on arbitration-related legislation, case law and other initiatives. The year, however, ended with a regrettable situation in Peru, where…
Discussions of corruption carry strong moral sentiments. After all, the abuse of public office for private gain erodes people’s trust in government and institutions, makes public policies less effective and fair, and siphons taxpayers’ money away from schools, roads, and hospitals. More generally, broad-based corruption weakens the foundations of a healthy economy, degrades social norms,…
It is well known that Greek public finances have been in a precarious state since the country’s debt crisis erupted in 2010. In an environment of tough fiscal consolidation, compensation awards running in millions present a significant economic and political challenge. This post discusses a case before the Greek Supreme Court that resulted in a…
In the landscape of international investment arbitration the allegations of corruption have become more and more common. Confronted with investor’s claims before an arbitral tribunal, host states employ all possible legal arguments available to avoid potential liability and the subsequent payment of compensation. Investor’s corrupt acts have emerged as a potentially viable state defense in…
In 2013 the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin announced in his annual message to the Council of the Federation: “I would like to attract your attention to one more problem – the mechanisms of commercial dispute resolution are still not as good as the global practice is, and it is necessary to raise…
In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered Pemex’s allegations insufficient to sustain RICO jurisdiction in the Conproca vs. Pemex case. This prompts out a number of interrogations: Was the bar set too high for Pemex to sustain RICO Jurisdiction? Was the underlying reason of the Court’s decision…
In Honeywell v Meydan Group LLC ([2014] EWHC 1344 (TCC)) the High Court in London upheld a DIAC award against the owner of the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, rejecting allegations that the underlying contract was procured through bribery. The decision is just one of a number of claims arising out of the construction of the…
