Rusoro Mining Ltd. (“Rusoro”), a Canadian corporation, filed an investment claim against The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Venezuela”), pursuant to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) Additional Facility Arbitration (“AF”) Rules of April 2006 (Case No. ARB(AF)/12/5). Rusoro claimed that, between 2009 and 2010, Venezuela expropriated its investment over mining rights and…
The Delhi Arbitration Week (“DAW”) 2024 that took place from 6 to 10 March 2024 featured two panel discussions that focused on emerging issues such as state owned entities (“SOEs”) and the role of technology in arbitration. The panel discussions came into play at a time when there have been significant developments and challenges globally…
As part of 2024 Paris Arbitration Week, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP hosted a webinar on “Swords and Shields: Navigating Current Trends in Enforcing Arbitral Awards.” The event featured Sebastiano Nessi, Loujaine Kahaleh, and Juan Perla, and was moderated by Geoffroy Lyonnet. The panel examined recent trends in the enforcement of arbitral awards, starting…
Can a court restrain a State from pursuing civil proceedings in a foreign jurisdiction? This was the question before the English High Court in UK P&I Club N.V. and United Kingdom Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association Ltd v República Bolivariana de Venezuela RCGS “Resolute” [2022] EWHC 1655 (Comm). UK P&I Club N.V. (the “English Club”)…
The pandemic did not prevent French courts from bringing their share of arbitration-related developments, although they remained almost inactive from March to June. This post succinctly reviews some of 2020’s noteworthy developments. Important Decisions of the Paris Court of Appeal’s International Section Operational since March 2018, the International Chamber of the Paris court of…
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…
The recent decision issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine reopened the door to whether a country waives sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (the “FSIA”) by signing the New York Convention or other international treaties. In Pao Tatneft v. Ukraine, Tatneft,…
In November 2018, the former director of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) in Kuala Lumpur resigned from his role after being arrested on suspicions that he paid past and present ministers bribes to renew his role at the AIAC. His lawyer argued before Malaysian courts that, by virtue of his role at AIAC, he is…
The views expressed herein are the personal views of the authors and do not reflect those of their law firm. In France, until recently, rules governing the issue of sovereign immunity from enforcement, and in particular those setting out the scope and conditions under which such immunities apply, derived from case law. Although relevant international…
