It is not unnoticed that good faith gained relevance in investment treaty arbitration. There is an increasing number of decisions where good faith was relied on by tribunals on the basis of Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“VCLT”), the general rule of interpretation, according to which “[a] treaty shall…
In a recent decision dated April 8, 2024, a sole arbitrator seated in Santiago de Chile ruled in favor of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco” or the “Claimant”) in an internet domain property dispute. The dispute between Aramco and Mr. Joaquín Poblete (“Mr. Poblete” or the “Respondent”) arose when Mr. Poblete registered and obtained property…
This report highlights the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “SFSC”) issued in 2020. Tribunal’s Jurisdiction – Scope of Arbitration Agreement In 2020, the SFSC issued several decisions on the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal and on the determination of the objective (ratione materiae) and subjective (ratione personae)…
This is the 2nd part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) issued in 2019. Ne Eat Arbiter Extra Petita In the decision 4A_294/2019 / 4A_296/2019 of 13 November 2019, the Supreme Court dealt with an extra petita appeal against an ICC-award….
Principles of adverse inferences are applied universally. International law endorses the arbitrator’s inherent authority to draw adverse inferences against a party for unjustified non-compliance with an order to produce information. Moreover, arbitrators can rely on general principles of law when applying adverse inferences as a basis for decisions. The general principle of good faith imposes…
The Dissenting Opinion of Georges Abi-Saab to the Decision on Jurisdiction and Merits of September 3, 2013 in the case ConocoPhillips, Petrozuata B.V., ConocoPhillips Hamaca B.V. and ConocoPhillips Gulf of Paria B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/07/30 (hereinafter the “Dissenting Opinion”), raises the issue of whether there is a duty to…
and Katherine Bell, Schellenberg Wittmer In 2014, the Swiss Supreme Court rendered 32 decisions on petitions to set aside international arbitral awards. Consistent with a traditionally low success rate, the Supreme Court granted only 4 of the 32 petitions. One of these four petitions was considered in a French-language decision dated 7 April 2014 (Decision…
Being a fan of Mac as I have been for many years now, I have always enjoyed reading magazines related to those nifty computer products. Macworld is among the regular publications on my reading list. Two particular sections of it have always grabbed my attention. The first section is dedicated to “mac gems”, that is,…
