Modern institutional arbitration rules commonly provide for emergency relief at the outset of the arbitration either through the expedited formation of a tribunal or the appointment of an emergency arbitrator, or both. This could either be viewed as a broadening of options for a party seeking immediate remedy or a constraint of the court’s powers…
Recent developments indicate there may be increasing interest in the creation of alternative forms of dispute resolution for investor-State disputes. One potential alternative is mediation. This post outlines how 2016 has been an important year for investor-State mediation, considers how mediation interacts with investment treaty arbitration, and the benefits and risks associated with such a…
Under Article V(1)(e) of the 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“The New York Convention”), a court presented with an action to enforce an arbitral award “may refuse” to enforce the award “only if” the opposing party can prove that an award “has been set aside or suspended…
Arbitrability is a fundamental concept of arbitration law which gives an answer to a question which dispute can be submitted to arbitration. Traditionally in Russia the non-arbitrability of a dispute was explained through a public policy consideration. In other words, disputes which have or might have a public interest cannot be submitted to arbitration. The…
The Second Circuit’s decision on Chevron Corporation v. Steven Donziger et. al., one more chapter of the “Chevron Saga” (discussed by the author here), arose out of a federal action commenced by Chevron Corporation in 2011 against American lawyer Steven Donziger, his law firm and the plaintiffs in the Lago Agrio claim initiated against Chevron…
The 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“New York Convention”) is the engine that makes international arbitration an effective mechanism to resolve disputes. The purpose of the New York Convention is to encourage and simplify the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. In the case of Figueiredo…
The Ukrainian “saga” on the enforcement of the SCC emergency arbitrator’s award continues – the case is pending the second round of cassation review. The arbitration proceedings were initiated by the Dutch and English investors OIL&GAS PLC and POLTAVA GAS B.V. (“JKX” or “Claimants”) on January 7, 2015. The case concerns the alleged Ukraine’s failure…
To investors’ relief, in a recent ruling (see Case No. 384/2016, ruling of the Dubai Court of Cassation of 19 June 2016), the Dubai Court of Cassation reversed the lower court’s refusal to enforce an award rendered under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in London, England, on the basis…
The 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“The New York Convention”) is the engine that makes international arbitration an effective mechanism to resolve disputes. The national courts of each signatory state give meaning to the New York Convention’s terms by rendering decisions interpreting the text of the document….
Last month, it was announced in a legal press release (“press release”) that the Enforcement Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia had decided to enforce an US$18.5 million ICC arbitral award rendered in London in favour of its client, a UAE subsidiary of a Greek telecom company. The press release stated that it believed this to…
In recent years, arbitration in the UAE has experienced significant growth among domestic and international users. While there is undoubtedly a positive trend in the use of arbitration as a mechanism to resolve disputes in the UAE, one of the main criticisms is the uncertainty around enforcement of both domestic and international awards, despite the…
On 15 May 2016, the UAE Ministry of Justice and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts, the courts of the newly established common law free zone carved out of the heart of Abu Dhabi (see my previous reporting here), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding concerning cooperation in legal and judicial matters with immediate…
According to a recent announcement (see the official DIAC website at https://www.dubaichamber.com/en/news/dubai-international-arbitration-centre-opens-an-office-in-difc), the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, widely known by its acronym as the “DIAC”, is set to open a branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre, in shorthand the “DIFC”. This anticipated move is no doubt a promotional exercise to address concerns that the…
Recently the U.S. Executive Branch made headlines by agreeing with Venezuela. In particular, the Executive Branch filed an amicus curiae submission in New York federal appeals court in which it agreed with Venezuela regarding the treatment of ICSID awards in U.S. courts. According to the U.S. Executive (and Venezuela), a party seeking recognition of an…
Arbitration in Brazil has come a long way since the passing of the Brazilian Arbitration Act in 1996 (the “BAA”). The BAA has its origins in the UNCITRAL Model Law and even though it preceded Brazil’s ratification of the New York Convention by six years, the BAA is consistent with the New York Convention, at…
Two recent decisions handed down by the DIFC Courts have further developed the enforcement landscape within the UAE, confirming the availability of a swifter enforcement regime for foreign investors. This article explores each decision in further detail and examines the significance for businesses. The DIFC Court’s recent decisions in Bocimar v ETA and DNB Bank…
Five years after the UK Supreme Court handed down its infamous decision in Dallah v. Pakistan, UK Supreme Court Justice Lorde Mance has shed new light on the ‘pathological’ case. To recall, the arbitral tribunal in the Dallah case faced a jurisdictional challenge which questioned whether the Government of Pakistan was a party to an…
In some legal systems, a shareholder of a company may act for the company in certain circumstances. When a shareholder is permitted to do so, questions may arise whether the shareholder may invoke (and is bound by) an arbitration clause in the contract. The arbitrability of derivative shareholders’ actions is largely unclear in comparative legal…
For the last several years, Russia has undergone arbitration reform initiated by the President in or around 2013. The reform is aimed at increasing the credibility of this dispute resolution mechanism in Russia and updating the framework regulating domestic and international arbitration by addressing many long known gaps. The latest development occurred on 29 December…
In 2009, Georgia adopted a new Law on Arbitration (“Law on Arbitration”) based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration with amendments as adopted in 2006 (“Model Law”). Shortly thereafter, Mr. Michael Wietzorek commented on the implementation of the new law on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog (here) and qualified this as a “significant…
In September 2015 the UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation) continued its work on formulating legal framework on the enforcement of settlement agreements, including a convention, model provisions or guidance texts. Currently, parties can request arbitration tribunals to record their settlement agreements as consent awards, i.e. an arbitral award on terms agreed upon by…
A ruling of the Austrian Supreme Court, the Oberste Gerichtshof in Vienna, Austria, of earlier this year (see ruling of 18 February 2015, 2 Ob 22/14w) raises anew the much debated question of the type and intensity of supervisory court review of European Union (EU) competition law awards. Readers may recall that EU competition law…
Introduction On 1 January 2016, the Act on Promoting Amicable Dispute Resolution Methods (dated 10 September 2015, published on 13 October 2015, Official Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland, item 1595), available in Polish here (“Amendment”), which was a subject of my previous post, will come into force. The Amendment is the first…
Co-authored with William Kenny, Intern at HKIAC A View from Inside A foreword by Victor Dumler, Dumler and Partners Law Offices, St Petersburg. Over the last two decades, Russia-related disputes have become a considerable part of “Russia’s export” into Western Europe. Yet, after more than a year living under the sanctions regime, the situation is…
