In the last decade, India has emerged as a prominent pro-arbitration jurisdiction owing to several factors including legislative changes to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”). Indian courts have been at the forefront of this movement and consistently interpreted Indian law in favour of arbitration rather than against arbitration. A noticeable trend has…
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…
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) and Qatar last week as part of a state visit to the Middle East. This visit led to the signing of the India-UAE bilateral investment treaty between Indian Prime Minister Modi and the UAE’s president, Mohamed Bin Zayed on 13 February 2024. Along with the…
In the constitutional lawsuit (amparo) with court docket number 7856/2019, the First Chamber of the National Supreme Court of Justice analyzed the constitutionality of Article 1461, second paragraph, of the Commercial Code, which states, in its relevant part, that a party interested in enforcing an arbitration award must file the original arbitral award “duly authenticated”.1)Precedent…
Approximately a year ago, on 19 December 2019, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica recognized an ICC arbitration award rendered on 10 June 2016 by a tribunal seated in Miami. This case, one of the very few where the New York Convention (“NY Convention”) has been applied by a State court…
In this post, we discuss some of the challenges created by the personal jurisdiction requirements under U.S. law (explained below) in enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the U.S. We also delve into details of hurdles posed by the implementation of the personal jurisdiction standard as enunciated in Daimler AG v. Bauman to recognition and…
Electronic signatures (e-signatures) may affect in some cases arbitration’s most valuable characteristic: the enforceability of the arbitral award. In most jurisdictions, and in particular pursuant to Article 31(1) of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, arbitral awards must be rendered in writing and contain the arbitrators’ signatures. The enforceability risks of authenticating an arbitral…
Indian courts have pronounced inconsistent decisions regarding the limitation period on applications for enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This blog post discusses the conflicting jurisprudence and advocates adoption of purposive interpretation for its redressal. Sections 47 to 49 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (“the Act”), which forms part of the chapter on…
The answer to the question of how to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards in currently at least 164 jurisdictions worldwide usually starts with a reference to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). Not so in the Kingdom of eSwatini, one of the few…
In this post we consider the soundness of the legal conclusion of the Johannesburg High Court in the recent matter of Government of the United Republic of Tanzania v Hermanus Philippus Steyn (28994/2019) [2019] ZAGPJHC 312 (4 September 2019); 2019 JDR 1690 (GJ) (“Reconsideration Judgment“) to confirm jurisdiction over foreigners in South Africa in order…
The question whether two Indian parties can choose a foreign seat of arbitration has become far too obfuscated with some recent judicial pronouncements. This article seeks to argue that the scheme of Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act (“Act”) itself does not permit it. In India, enforcement of arbitral awards is covered in two parts under…
Introduction On 9 December 2018, the UAE adopted Cabinet Resolution No. 57 of 2018, which entered into force on 16 February 2019 (the “Cabinet Resolution“). The Cabinet Resolution introduces significant amendments to the UAE Civil Procedure Code (Federal Law No. 11 of 1992), which considerably enhance a wide array of procedures before the UAE onshore…
The Prior Reporting System, established in August 1995 (see SPC Notice on Prior Reporting System (1995)), has been the most notable intervention of the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) in the area of arbitration since the PRC Arbitration Law (1994) was enacted. During the China Arbitration Summit held in Beijing on 20 September 2017, Justice Xuefeng…
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…
