Report from a Workshop Hosted by Squire Patton Boggs and Delos on 30 May 2019 in Prague It has been a while now that buzzword of innovation has made its way into the traditionally conservative legal world. While a number of smart tech tools for lawyers such as contract automation or document management systems with numerous…
The publication of the Rules on the Efficient Conduct of Proceedings in Arbitration (“Prague Rules”) on 14 December 2018 heralded a challenge to the well-established incumbent (i.e. the International Bar Association (“IBA”) Rules on the Taking of Evidence (“Evidence Rules”)) and prompted much debate amongst the arbitral community, including at least six posts on this…
Prof. Dr. Jelena Perović, from the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and Dr. Nataša Hadžimanović, from Gabriel Arbitration (Zurich, Switzerland), launched the Round Table on Arbitration in 2018 as a forum to discuss controversial issues, share experiences and highlight new trends in arbitration. The 2nd Round Table on Arbitration took place in the magnificent rooms of…
International trade and investment arbitration in Latin America has come a long way over the last two decades as discussed in the book Trade Agreements, Investment Protection and Dispute Settlement in Latin America. More recently, new generation trade and investment agreements entered into by Latin American states have progressively included innovative dispute resolution mechanisms, shaping…
On 22 March 2019, the Netherlands published its new model BIT (“2019 Dutch Model BIT”). The new model text may well set the scene for a new generation of investment treaties, paving the way with progressive rules on sustainable development and gender empowerment. The 2019 Dutch Model BIT is a refined version of the initial…
A common concern for arbitration practitioners in Africa is that when it comes to African seated arbitrations, African practitioners are underrepresented. The African Arbitration Association (AfAA) was set up as a combined vision of practitioners in the region to create a platform that would encourage and create more opportunities for greater representation of African…
The regular readers of the Kluwer Arbitration Blog will recall my blog at the beginning of this year in which I predicted that 2019 would be the ‘Year of the big Harvest’ for the European Commission regarding its efforts to permanently change the landscape of international investment law and arbitration. This posts will review the…
On April 12, 2019, the Republic of Djibouti (“Djibouti”) signed the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (“ICSID Convention” or “Convention”). To date, the Convention has been signed by 163 countries and ratified by 154 countries. Why is Djibouti signing the ICSID Convention at a time when…
As the recent launch of the Prague Rules and the discussions at the Paris Arbitration Week 2019 and London International Disputes Week 2019 have shown, discussions around time and cost efficiency in arbitration remain a key concern of users and the arbitration community. This article accordingly reports on the launch event held by Delos Dispute…
The CERSA (CNRS, University Paris II Panthéon-Assas) organized its fourth event in a series of seminars on selected topics in international investment law and ISDS. On 28 March 2019, a distinguished panel of practitioners and academics gathered in Paris to exchange views on ‘Environmental Considerations in Investment Arbitration’. The discussion was moderated by Catharine Titi…
The last session of the London International Disputes Week discussed the resolution of competition disputes. Sir Peter Roth, The Honorable Mr Justice, President of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, gave the keynote speech. Sir Roth explained that, while most of these disputes are a follow up to EU Commission decisions and one must also take…
Shipping disputes might range from minor issues to complex jurisdictional claims with several parties involved in the contracts. Due to the popularity and observed benefits of arbitration, such as the privacy of the arbitral process and perceived certainty in the binding nature of arbitral awards, arbitral agreements have grown in use with the increase in…
The nature and up-coming trends in the financial services dispute sector were one of the topics dealt with during the first day of the London International Dispute Week (LIDW). The audience had the opportunity to formulate an understanding of how financial disputes are treated by courts and tribunals. The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hamblen gave…
What are Terms of Reference in the ICC Rules of Arbitration, and what are they for? Article 23(1) of the 2017 ICC Rules provides “As soon as it has received the file [of a new dispute] from the Secretariat, the arbitral tribunal shall draw up, on the basis of documents or in the presence of…
On 22 November 2018, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation hosted a High Level Event on the Reform of Investment Protection. Distinguished panellists from arbitral institutions, international organisations, academia, civil society, arbitration users and legal practitioners presented diverse views on the need for reform of the system of investor-State dispute…
This is the 1st part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) published in 2018. Consent to Arbitrate In two decisions, the Supreme Court dealt with the validity of an arbitration agreement under Swiss law. It set aside both awards – two of rather…
The decision made in the case of Hardy Exploration & Production (India), Inc. v. Government of India, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (Civ. Action No. 16-140 (D.D.C. 7 June 2018)) (“Hardy case”) is yet another decision in a string of outcomes under the New York Convention proving that the repeated adagio “if it ain’t broken,…
Participants at this year’s Dubai Arbitration Week gathered for the ICC conference hosted by Al Tamimi & Co on 14 November 2018. The conference featured a lively roundtable discussion on the subject of “Arbitrator Disclosure – Local Flavour or International Standards?” chaired by Nadia Darwazeh. The panel comprised practitioners from across the MENA region and…
The applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) to arbitral proceedings is a complex issue. The recent decision of the European Court for Human Rights (“ECtHR”) in the so-called Mutu/Pechstein cases brings some clarification in this regard, but also raises some new questions1)ECtHR, Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland, Decision of 2 October 2018,…
Over the last century, arbitration has established itself as one of the most popular means for resolving commercial disputes1) Gary B. Born, ‘Chapter 1: Overview of International Commercial Arbitration’, International Commercial Arbitration (2nd edition, Kluwer Law International 2014), 6–224, at 93-97; Queen Mary University London, 2015 International Arbitration Survey: Improvements and Innovations in Arbitration. and…
In February 2018, the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court of the City of Moscow issued a ruling1) Ruling of the Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court of the City of Moscow dated 8 February 2018, case No. A40-176466/17-83-1232. denying the recognition and enforcement of an ICC award issued in favor of Dredging and Maritime Management SA (Luxembourg) against JSC Inzhtransstroy…
The authors write this contribution strictly in their own name. Most arbitration laws require parties to identify in their arbitration agreement the “defined legal relationship” for which they wish to submit disputes to arbitration. Nonetheless, this requirement has given rise to little case law in practice. In a judgment of 29 August 2018 (“Judgment”), however,…
Sometimes, the establishment needs to step aside to let the next promising generation create a new way forward: So it commences with entrepreneurial students at the University of Miami, combining talents of engineering, technology, and international law and arbitration. It is by thinking out of the box that disruptive changes happen and they must in…
Introduction Despite a rapid emergence at a global stage, third-party funding (TPF) appears yet as unfamiliar to businesses in the Nordic region. According to a survey included in the 2018 edition of the Roschier Disputes Index, merely 5 per cent of the Nordic companies have used TPF for financing litigation or enforcement proceedings. Arguably, these…
