Jurisdiction

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitrators, Crypto, Cryptocurrency, Data Protection, English courts, English Law, Fraud, Hong Kong, LIDW 2025, Technology

(Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer)/ /Leave a comment

As part of the 2025 edition of the London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”), Osborne Partners, A&O Shearman and Eversheds Sutherland hosted a panel on “Arbitration in Emerging Industries (Tech, Fintech and Crypto): Global Risks and Local Differences”. The panel, moderated by Jonathan Leach (Eversheds Sutherland), comprised Brenda Horrigan (Independent Arbitrator), Sanjeev Kapoor (Khaitan & Co),…

Arbitral Appointments, Institutional Arbitration, LIDW 2025, UK

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Following its resounding success last year, the Arbitral Institutions Congress made a comeback, featuring on day 3 of the London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”) 2025. The event comprised of representatives from several global arbitral institutions as well as regional arbitral institutions and was held in the historic Queen’s Room at Middle Temple. The event was…

Diversity, Efficiency, LIDW 2025, Middle East

(Gogra and Associates) and / /Leave a comment

London International Disputes Week (“LIDW”) 2025 commenced with International Arbitration Day on 2 June 2025. The opening event, hosted by Linklaters LLP, featured a keynote address by Kevin Nash, Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”), followed by a panel of in-house counsel discussing best practices and jurisdictional insights in international arbitration,…

Artificial Intelligence, LIDW 2025, Sovereign Immunities, UK

, (Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

On International Arbitration Day, London International Dispute Week (“LIDW”) featured panels that explored how courts and institutions can promote and strengthen arbitration, as well as how pivotal projects can benefit from it. This post highlights two panels hosted by Simmons & Simmons and Squire Patton Boggs, which focused on the approaches courts can take to…

Colombia, Free Trade Agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Treaty Interpretation

, (Adell & Merizalde)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (“TPA”), in force since 15 May 2012, has been interpreted through a 15 January 2025 decision (Decision No. 9) issued by the Free Trade Commission of the TPA (the “FTC Decision”), which introduced new binding interpretations of the treaty’s investment protection standards (Article 10.22.3). While much of the FTC…

AfCFTA Investment Protocol, Africa, ICCA Kigali 2025, ISDS Reform

(Janssen Sanghavi & Associates)/ /1 Comment

In recent years, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) mechanism has attracted widespread criticism from countries, practitioners and academics, which has been the subject of  a vast amount of literature. UNCITRAL through Working Group III has been working on possible reforms of ISDS since 2017. During its 51st Session, UNCITRAL Working Group III agreed that the…

Investment, Most Favoured Nation (MFN), Ukraine, United States

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On 30 April 2025, the United States and Ukraine signed the long-awaited Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America on the Establishment of a United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (“Minerals Deal”). The Minerals Deal, which, according to the Ukrainian government, will promote substantial investments in Ukraine, was…

Art and Arbitration, German law, Germany

(Gleiss Lutz) and (University of Tübingen)/ /Leave a comment

On March 26, 2025, the German Federal Government, the federal states (Länder), and municipal organizations entered into an agreement to establish arbitral proceedings for claims concerning Nazi-confiscated art. This article endeavors to show the cornerstones of the new arbitration procedure as well as to highlight some possible weak points of this reform.   Lost Art…

Guatemala, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdictional challenge, Latin America, Legality of the investment

(ECIJA) and / /Leave a comment

In investment arbitration, it is widely recognized that to benefit from the protection of an investment treaty, the investment must be legal. Tribunals assess this legality either because the treaty explicitly mandates it (e.g., Ecuador-Sweden BIT) or because the tribunal assumes this authority even if the treaty is silent (e.g., Worley v. Ecuador). In either…

Africa, Botswana, Resource Nationalism

, (Fieldfisher)/ /Leave a comment

Following last year’s surprising change of government in Botswana, one of the largest diamond mining countries, investors in the country’s natural resources sector could see an increase in the risks impacting their projects. Botswana’s economy has been experiencing a slowdown – growth decreased from 5.5% in 2022 to 1% in 2024. In addition, the newly-elected…

Annulment, Commercial Arbitration, Competence-Competence, Enforcement, Latin America, Non-signatory

(FERRERE Abogados)/ /Leave a comment

On March 18, 2025, the Office of the Paraguayan Presidency’s Legal Counsel submitted to the Paraguayan Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) its draft to modernize Law No. 1879/2002, the Paraguayan Arbitration Act (the “Project”), following a recent trend in other jurisdictions amending their arbitration legislation (e.g., France, the UK, and Germany). The Center has…

Bahrain, kompetenz-kompetenz, MENA

(Supreme Judicial Council, Kingdom of Bahrain)/ /1 Comment

In a significant decision issued on 24 June 2024 (Case No. 200 of 2023), the Bahraini Court of Cassation (“Court of Cassation”) reaffirmed the centrality of arbitral autonomy by upholding the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz. This doctrine, foundational in international arbitration, empowers arbitral tribunals to rule on their own jurisdiction, including disputes over the existence or…

Arbitration Reform, Pakistan, Public Policy

(Hussain Zaman Associates)/ /Leave a comment

Pakistani Courts typically employ an expansive interpretation of the term ‘public policy’ when determining arbitrability of an international dispute or the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. As a consequence, in recent years, some of the awards (with political and monetary importance for Pakistan) from international arbitral tribunals have been denied enforcement by the Pakistani Courts….

Anti-arbitration Injunction, Anti-suit injunction, Russia, Sanctions

(ArbBoutique & Queen Mary University of London), (ArbBoutique), and (London School of Economics and Political Science)/ /1 Comment

Anti-suit injunction (“ASI”) cases have risen in number in the United Kingdom (“U.K.”) over the last two decades. Sanctions imposed by various States, including the European Union (“EU”) and the U.K., have been in place against Russia for about half of this period in light of its invasion of Ukraine and the on-going Russia-Ukraine war…

Africa, ICCA Kigali 2025

(University of Cape Town) and (Nater Dallafior)/ /Leave a comment

This is the third post in ICCA’s series of posts focused on international arbitration in Africa in the lead up to the ICCA-KIAC joint conference “Africa & International Arbitration: Untold Stories,” taking place in Kigali on 5 June 2025.   Introduction Over the last two decades, Africa has experienced robust economic growth, increasing its appeal…

Reform, Uganda

(Anguria & Co. Advocates)/ /1 Comment

A few years ago, the government of Uganda embarked on Rationalization of Government Agencies and Expenditure (RAPEX) Reform to eradicate structural and functional duplications, mandate overlaps, and expenditure deemed uneconomical. As such, over 31 bills have received presidential assent, drawing the curtain on agencies that were either absorbed by the line ministries, merged with others…

Insolvency, SIAC Insolvency Protocol, Singapore, Stay of Proceedings

(Drew & Napier LLC)/ /Leave a comment

As defined by Mister Fantastic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “[a]n Incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely.” In the realm of commercial disputes, a similar incursion has taken place for some time between two competing legal regimes — arbitration and insolvency. In the recent…

Judicial intervention, SIAC, SIAC Rules 2025, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

(HFW Singapore LLP) and / /Leave a comment

Can a court interfere with an administrative decision of an arbitral institution? In this article, we discuss the recent decision of DMZ v DNA [2025] SGHC 31 (“DMZ”) in which the Singapore High Court (“SGHC”) ruled that courts cannot intervene in decisions of the SIAC Registrar (“Registrar”) and reaffirmed the principle of minimal curial intervention…

Arbitral Tribunal, Data Protection, Tanzania, Uncategorized

(Alistair Group, Tanzania) and (Technical University of Munich)/ /Leave a comment

Data protection laws and regulations are generally mandatory and apply anytime personal data is processed, including the methods, locations and times that personal information may be processed. However, such laws and regulations do not expressly or explicitly address data protection in arbitration proceedings. On 27 November 2022, the National Assembly of Tanzania passed the Personal…

Africa, ICCA Kigali 2025, Immunity

(Uganda Vis Society and Orima & Co. Advocates)/ /Leave a comment

This is the second post in ICCA’s series of posts focused on international arbitration in Africa in the lead up to the ICCA-KIAC joint conference “Africa & International Arbitration: Untold Stories”, taking place in Kigali on 5 June 2025.   Introduction The concept of immunity operates in distinct legal contexts. Under international law, it functions as a protection…

Awards, Enforcement, Indonesia, International arbitration, Seat of the arbitration

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On 3 January 2025, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia (“Constitutional Court”) issued Decision No. 100/PUU-XXII/2024 (“Decision 100”) which declared certain wording in Law No. 30 of 1999 concerning Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (“Arbitration Law”) to be unconstitutional. This post examines how Decision 100 reduces ambiguity regarding the nationality of awards and minimizes situations where…

Latin America

(BakerHostetler)/ /Leave a comment

Critical minerals have recently become one of the most sought-after commodities. The clean energy transition and national security concerns have only boosted their demand. According to the International Energy Agency (“IEA”), the demand for critical minerals in 2023 experienced strong growth, with lithium demand rising 30% and demand for nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth…

Expropriation, International Investment Arbitration, International Investment Law, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Jurisdictional challenge

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The takeover of the Chinese-owned British Steel Limited by the UK Government under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2015 can lead to the submission of a dispute to investment treaty arbitration under the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic…

Enforcement, England, Netherlands, Sovereign Immunity, State Immunity, United States

, , (Seladore Legal)/ /Leave a comment

In February 2025, the Court of Appeal of England & Wales unanimously dismissed Russia’s appeal against the English High Court’s decision that issue estoppel applies to its determination of the applicability of exceptions to state immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978 (“Immunity Act”) (“CoA Decision”). The case forms part of long-running, multi-jurisdictional proceedings surrounding…