In Case No. ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2024:947, the Appeal Court in Amsterdam granted leave to enforce an arbitral award despite the applicant being unable to produce the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy thereof, as prescribed by article IV(1) of the New York Convention. This post assesses this decision and similar decisions against the background of…
From 20 to 22 November 2024, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) hosted the second edition of the JCAA Arbitration Days, as part of the inaugural Japan International Arbitration Week (JIAW) in Tokyo. This article reports on the second day of the JCAA Arbitration Days, held in hybrid format on 21 November 2024. The panels…
The Court of Appeal of Amsterdam (the “Court”) recently granted leave to enforce a foreign ICC award in the Netherlands, despite fraud allegations and pending setting-aside proceedings in France. The Court (i) accepted territorial jurisdiction on the basis of the claimant’s plausible intent to enforce within the jurisdiction, (ii) examined the fraud allegations with a…
In a recent ruling of 20 June 2024 (ARB 009/2024 Narcisco v. Nash), the Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”) Court of First Instance (“DIFC CFI”) was asked, as part of a wider investigation to grant an anti-suit injunction, to consider the validity of an arbitration agreement that provided for arbitration under the DIFC-London Court of…
Rusoro Mining Ltd. (“Rusoro”), a Canadian corporation, filed an investment claim against The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Venezuela”), pursuant to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) Additional Facility Arbitration (“AF”) Rules of April 2006 (Case No. ARB(AF)/12/5). Rusoro claimed that, between 2009 and 2010, Venezuela expropriated its investment over mining rights and…
On 27 June 2024, the United Kingdom (“UK”) ratified the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (“2019 Hague Convention” or “Convention”), with 1 July 2025 being the expected date of its entry into force in England and Wales. This blog post shall first…
Through Ruling No. 3232-19-EP/24, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court (“Court”) settled a long-standing discussion and confirmed that recognition prior to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is an unreasonable requirement in light of the Ecuadorian legal system. In this post, we describe the factual background of the Court’s ruling and examine the procedural issues underlying the recent…
On 12 April 2024, the Regional Court of Essen (“LG Essen”) dismissed Spain’s request for an anti-enforcement injunction of an intra-EU investor-state arbitration award (2 O 447/22). The LG Essen held that anti-enforcement injunctions are inadmissible because they violate state sovereignty. This blog post will cover the facts and background of the decision, examine the…
It is well-recognized in the world of international arbitration that the curial courts—those at the seat of the arbitration—have supervisory jurisdiction over their local arbitral proceedings (the so-called “seat standard”). Despite this, Chinese courts have historically been reluctant to take on the mantle of this supervisory jurisdiction for arbitrations administered by foreign arbitration institutions within…
On 26 April 2024, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“SFSC”) rendered decision 4A_486/2023, upholding the unpublished Final Award in Clorox Spain S.L. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Clorox v. Venezuela”) (PCA Case No. 2015-30). In the underlying investment treaty arbitration, Clorox sought compensation for the alleged expropriation and unfair treatment of its investment by Venezuela,…
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) recently delivered a judgment which, while dealing primarily with the issue of bank guarantees, serves as a window into a Paris-seated ICC arbitration between a Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier inc. and the Hellenic Ministry of Defense (“HMOD”). The case of Eurobank Ergasias v. Bombardier inc. brings to the forefront…
The recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Pakistan has been a subject of significant legal scrutiny and development. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has recently issued a landmark judgment aimed at clarifying and rectifying the legal framework surrounding this issue, aligning it more closely with international standards. Historical Background Historically, the enforcement…
On the final day of London International Disputes Week 2024 (“LIDW”), LALIVE and Kobre & Kim hosted an event on arbitration and enforcement involving sovereign States. The panel of speakers comprised Andrew Stafford KC and Nicholas Surmacz of Kobre & Kim, as well as Sandrine Giroud and Marc Veit of LALIVE. They explored issues relating…
As part of the 2024 London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”), Kirkland & Ellis hosted an event titled “Panel Session on Sanctioned Countries”. The panel, comprised of Anna Bradshaw (Peters & Peters), James Freeman (A&O Shearman), Maya Lester KC (Brick Court Chambers), David Lorello (Covington & Burlington), Jon Newman (Kirkland & Ellis), and Dara Shagal (Pinna…
The centerpiece of the 2024 London International Disputes Week was the full day main Conference on Tuesday, 4 June, bringing together leaders from across the dispute resolution world to discuss the topical issues of the moment under the theme of Uniting for Global Challenge and Opportunity. The Conference was opened by Luke Harrison, partner…
On 5 March 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”) delivered its judgment in Iliria S.R.L. v. Albania (“Iliria”), a case concerning a complaint under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR” or “the Convention”) relating to a more than 17-year delay in the conclusion of recognition (exequatur) proceedings…
International arbitration specialists frequently estimate that national courts give effect to about 90% of all international arbitral awards. Recently, several scholars have set out to empirically test this estimated 90% enforcement rate (see here, here, here, and here). When they ran their numbers regarding how frequently national courts give effect to awards, however, they found…
Two recent judgments, one from the United States (US) District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (“Louisiana Court”) and another from the Singapore High Court (“Singapore Court”), have highlighted the difficulties that Decree No. 34/2021(Concerning the Dubai International Arbitration Centre) (“Decree No. 34/2021”) may cause to the enforceability of DIFC-LCIA arbitration clauses in arbitrations…
On 14 April 2024, the English Commercial Court granted Crescent Gas Corporation Limited (“CGC”) ownership of a London property to assist it (partially) to recover a USD 2.6 billion judgment debt owed by the National Iranian Oil Company (“NIOC”). This post explores the court’s decision and key takeaways for practitioners particularly regarding enforcement strategies. …
The Brussels first instance court attracted significant attention in 2022 by deciding to set aside an UNCITRAL award regarding a claim brought against the Republic of Poland under the US-Poland bilateral investment treaty (“US-Poland BIT”). This was the first time we had seen a Belgian court set aside an investment treaty award. The first instance…
The Delhi Arbitration Week (“DAW”) 2024 that took place from 6 to 10 March 2024 featured two panel discussions that focused on emerging issues such as state owned entities (“SOEs”) and the role of technology in arbitration. The panel discussions came into play at a time when there have been significant developments and challenges globally…
In a recent judgment dated 14 March 2024, European Commission v UK Case C-516/22, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled that the UK failed to comply with its obligations under EU law (the “CJEU Judgment”). A casual reader may wonder how this could be. After all, the UK officially left the…
The second front can open in the United States (“U.S.”) for over 50 investment arbitration claims against the Kingdom of Spain (“Spain”) that are worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars combined. The ongoing disputes spotlighted the continuing controversy between the decisions of the European Union’s (“EU”) highest court and international investment tribunals. The cases…
As part of 2024 Paris Arbitration Week, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP hosted a webinar on “Swords and Shields: Navigating Current Trends in Enforcing Arbitral Awards.” The event featured Sebastiano Nessi, Loujaine Kahaleh, and Juan Perla, and was moderated by Geoffroy Lyonnet. The panel examined recent trends in the enforcement of arbitral awards, starting…
