Europe

EU Competition Law, EU Law, Europe, European Court of Justice, European Law, European Union, Micula, State Aid

(Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle)/ /Leave a comment

On October 2, 2024, the EU General Court delivered a much-anticipated decision in the long‑running Micula saga, upholding the European Commission’s qualification of the award in Ioan Micula, Viorel Micula, S.C. European Food S.A, S.C. Starmill S.R.L. and S.C. Multipack S.R.L. v. Romania [I] as State aid. Coming after more than 10 years of litigation…

ESG, Europe, International arbitration, Netherlands, Technology

, (Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

On 7 June 2024, the Dutch Arbitration Association (“DAA”) held its annual conference (the Dutch Arbitration Day “DAD”). Themed “Arbitration for the Next Generation”, this year’s edition highlighted the challenges and opportunities in future arbitral disputes faced by the next generation of arbitrators and practitioners.   Tomorrow Must be a Better Day In his keynote…

Conference, ECT Modernisation, Energy Charter Treaty, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, EU Law, Europe, European Court of Justice, LIDW 2024, UK

(Bucerius Law School), (Avizor Advocates & Arbitrators), (BonelliErede), and (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan)/ /Leave a comment

The role of the United Kingdom (“UK”), particularly London, and of the European Union (“EU”) in the landscape of investment arbitration has been a central topic of discussions during the London International Dispute Week 2024 (“LIDW”). This post aims to provide a non-exhaustive account of some of the events which tackled this theme. On the…

Canada, CETA, Europe, European Commission, European Union, Expedited arbitration, Expedited Proceedings, Expropriation, Fair and Equitable Treatment, FET, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

Although parts of CETA have been provisionally applied since 21 September 2017, the parts not subject to provisional application – including the investment chapter (CETA’s Chapter Eight) which covers investment protection and dispute resolution – are still pending domestic ratification procedures in 10 EU Member States. In parallel, CETA’s framework for investment protection and dispute…

Achmea, BIT, CJEU, Domestic Courts, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, Europe, foreign direct investment, Foreign Investment, International arbitration, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration

, (Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

On 25 April 2024, the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (“EFILA”) held its 9th Annual Conference at Clifford Chance in Frankfurt. The conference was opened by the Chair of the Executive Board of EFILA, Mirjam van de Hel (NautaDutilh) who underscored the importance of discussing the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on international arbitration…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Arbitration institution, Europe, Netherlands

, (Houthoff)/ /1 Comment

On 21 February 2024, the District Court of Amsterdam (“the court”) rendered a decision in summary proceedings. The key question that arose from this decision was: Can parties facing an unclear arbitration agreement ask the national courts to resolve their disputes instead? The issue of ambiguity surrounding arbitration agreements is not a novel phenomenon (see,…

2023 in Review, Achmea, EU Law, Europe

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In line with the Blog’s tradition of “year-in-review” series, this post looks back at some of the key investor-State arbitration developments that took place in Europe in 2023 as we covered them on the Blog (for relevant previous Year-in-Review coverage, see here and here). With the developments in the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty…

Climate change, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, Energy Dispute, Enforceability, Enforcement, ESG, Europe, LIDW 2023, Political Risk Insurance, Ukraine, War

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The Panel “The Future of Major Energy Projects Crises, Challenges, and Opportunities” took place on the penultimate day of the London International Disputes Week 2023 (“LIDW 2023”) on 18th May 2023 in the London office of McDermott Will & Emergy with panellist Armando Neris from McDermott Will & Emery, Lucian Ilie from Outer Temple Chambers,…

Artificial Intelligence, Collective redress, ESG, Europe, LIDW 2023

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

London International Disputes Week (LIDW) 2023 main conference addressed various facets of international dispute resolution in a changing world. Looking back to the first edition of LIDW in 2019, when the main concern revolved around Brexit and the consequences of it on London as a leading place of arbitration and international litigation, the following editions…

arbitration rules, Europe, Institutional Arbitration, Interviews with Our Editors, Serbia

(Brunel University London)/ /Leave a comment

Professor Vladimir Pavić is one of the leading scholars and practitioners in the area of international arbitration in Southeast Europe (SEE). He is Full Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law where he teaches an array of courses, including among others, Arbitration Law, Competition Law, and Private International Law. He holds an SJD…

Achmea, Enforcement, EU Law, Europe, European Law, European Union, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS

(Lenz & Staehelin)/ /Leave a comment

The extent to which different dispute resolution fora are willing to pay deference to the Court of Justice of the EU’s (“CJEU”) seminal (and controversial) Achmea decision is being closely observed by investors and States alike. 1) Not to mention the European Commission, which has sought to make itself heard in numerous proceedings relating to intra-EU…

2021 in Review, Achmea, ECJ, Energy Charter Treaty, EU Law, Europe, European Union, Micula, Multilateral Investment Court

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Looking back on 2021, one realizes that for those interested in the intersection between EU law and investment arbitration, it was a busy year. As part of our customary “year-in-review” series, this post offers a brief overview of the key investment arbitration-related developments in Europe and their coverage on the Blog. I have grouped these…

Europe, International arbitration, London

(Zaiwalla & Co)/ /Leave a comment

As the transition period following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU approached, there was much speculation about what a “no deal” Brexit might entail. Optimistically, some drew inspiration from Singapore to suggest a possible future for the City of London as an “offshore” European financial services hub. While the exclusion of financial services from…

2020 In Review, Europe, ICC Rules, Investment Arbitration, LCIA Rules, Legislation, Ordre Public, Right to be heard, Yukos

(Brunel University London) and / /Leave a comment

Although the Old Continent has suffered tremendously at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of arbitration still managed to find a way to keep on going. In this post, we are going to provide an overview of the most pivotal arbitration developments that occurred on the European soil in 2020. Among others, these…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreement, EU Law, Europe, Immunity, Intra-EU BIT's, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Reform

(University of Passau) and (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Whenever litigating against states or sovereign entities – or international organisations for that matter – outside of their home jurisdiction there is a roadblock to consider: immunities. On closer inspection, immunities turn out as two roadblocks: immunity from jurisdiction and immunity from enforcement. Whereas the general assumption is that an agreement to arbitrate waives immunity…

2019 In Review, Arbitration, Europe, Legislation

(Brunel University London)/ /Leave a comment

The year 2019 has seen some important legislative and case law developments in the European jurisdictions and Kluwer Arbitration Blog, as always, has been closely monitoring the developments on the ground.   I. Summary of Important Legislative Developments   a) Sweden: Aligning Arbitration Law with International Developments and Eliminating Duplicate Proceedings In March 2019, a…

Brexit, Brussels Regulation, ECJ, England, EU Law, Europe, European Union, UK, Uncategorized

(Legance Avvocati Associati)/ /Leave a comment

The Brexit clock is ticking and, under the current circumstances, the no deal scenario is being increasingly regarded at least as a concrete option – although the situation is changing on a daily basis and the extension of the two-year term under Article 50 TFEU could provide some breathing room. In the context of the…

Europe, International Commercial Courts, Jurisdiction, Language

(Addleshaw Goddard LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Jeantet

A 2018 study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs concluded that the EU should seek to establish a “European Commercial Court” at the level of the EU1) Study for the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI Committee), Building Competence in Commercial Law in the Member States, authored by Prof. Dr. Giesela…

Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitral Award, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Europe, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Public Policy, Turkey, Uncategorized

, (Baysal & Demir Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

The Public Policy Exception as an Unruly Horse There is an ongoing quest for a uniform application of the New York Convention. However, the interpretation of the exceptions to enforcement still varies. Albeit applying the same provisions, national courts continue to adopt different approaches to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This is particularly true…

2018 In Review, Achmea, Europe, European Commission, International Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU BITs, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS Reform

(Colibra Insurance)/ /Leave a comment

Very rarely would a single arbitration-related decision produce as significant an impact as the judgment of the Court of Justice of European Union (“EU” and “CJEU” respectively) in the Achmea case did during 2018. We should not doubt that Achmea will remain a cornerstone issue in the world of arbitration for a long period of…

Arbitrability, Brussels Regulation, Europe, European Convention on Human Rights, France, Russia, Unilateral Clauses

(New York University )/ /Leave a comment

A unilateral option clause (“UOC”) can take many forms. It may grant its beneficiary the exclusive right to choose between litigation and arbitration when a dispute arises, or to choose to litigate before a specific jurisdiction, while constraining the non-beneficiary to a specific forum or a specific mode of dispute settlement. Consequently, UOCs are undoubtedly…

Achmea, BIT, ECJ, Europe, European Law, European Union, Intra-EU BITs, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Uncategorized

(Vavrovsky Heine Marth)/ /2 Comments

Over the past two months, the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Slovak Republic v Achmea BV, hereinafter referred to as “Achmea”, has created much discussion among arbitration practitioners. Its reasoning and implications have already been addressed in several Kluwer Arbitration blog posts, available here, here and here. The…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Belt Road Initiative, China, Europe, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration

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The Belt-and-Road Initiative (“BRI“) is a grand vision about connectivity, infrastructure, trade and unimpeded foreign direct investment (“FDI“) flows. It is a path to China’s largest export market  – the European Union – which does not only propose to ‘transit’ Eurasia (and coastal East Africa), but to radically transform it. And, thus, mere construction and…

Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe, European Law, European Union

(University of Bari Aldo Moro)/ /Leave a comment

European institutions have established the European Account Preservation Order procedure (“EAPO”) to facilitate the cross-border debt recovery through the attachment of bank accounts (see here the Regulation (EU) No. 655/2014, which will apply from 18 January 2017, except for Denmark and the United Kingdom). The EAPO in particular provides creditors with a measure alternative to national…