This post highlights the most significant arbitration-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“SFSC”) in 2023 that are of interest to the international arbitration community at large. Part I focuses on the scope of arbitration clause and its validity in the context of a party’s (in)capacity of discernment, as well as on the new…
Part II of the 2023 Year in Review: Switzerland post (see Part I here) introduces new case law on the enforcement of arbitral awards. It also includes a continuation of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court’s (“SFSC”) case law on the parties’ duty of curiosity in respect of an arbitrator’s independence and impartiality. Enforcement a)…
This post highlights the most significant arbitration-related developments in Switzerland in 2022 that are of interest to the international arbitration community at large. Part I focuses on the topic of arbitrator’s independence and impartiality as well as on enforcement of arbitral awards in Switzerland, all from the perspective of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (‘SFSC’)….
This Part II of the 2022 Year in Review: Switzerland post focuses on decisions of the SFSC providing useful guidance on the remedy of revision (as in force since January 2021) and on the concept of “treaty shopping”. In addition, Part II briefly summarizes the main developments in Swiss legislation and arbitration rules (Supplemental Swiss…
In Decision 4A_520/2021 of 4 March 2022, the Swiss Federal Tribunal (“SFT”) was requested to determine whether the chairperson of a panel in proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) lacked independence or impartiality given his repeat appointments by FIFA. The SFT declared the challenge inadmissible under R34(1) CAS Code, yet still proceeded…
Most international arbitration institutions have already adopted regulations concerning the roles of tribunal secretaries and scope of their duties. Although this topic has not been on the radar for some time now, several incoming court decisions are likely to reverse this trend. This post sets out a few critical views on the current practice in…
Regardless of whether you are a sports enthusiast, the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s recent revision of the CAS award in WADA v. Sun Yang is unlikely to have escaped your attention. In its judgment of 22 December 2020 (4A_318/2020), the Swiss Federal Tribunal referred the Chinese swimmer’s case back to CAS, overturning an eight-year ban. A…
One of the spillovers from arbitration’s popularity for the resolution of commercial disputes has been a steady increase in the use of arbitration provisions in corporate governance documents such as articles of association (“AoA”) or bylaws. Global public companies such as Royal Dutch Shell plc, Kone Oyj or Petrobras SA are prominent examples of this…
Introduction The lex arbitri of Switzerland is well-known for affording parties maximum autonomy and procedural flexibility. In line with these principles, parties to international arbitration proceedings have the possibility to opt out of the otherwise applicable Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (“PILA”) and to opt into the statutory rules governing Swiss-seated…
