Jurisdiction

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, MENA, Qatar

(Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

The Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration (“QICCA”) has recently introduced new arbitration rules, effective from 1 January 2025 (“2024 Arbitration Rules”). These revised rules are aligned with global best practices and aim to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and flexibility of the arbitration process, solidifying QICCA’s position as a leading international arbitration institution within…

Asia-Pacific, Institutional Arbitration, Interviews with Our Editors, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Sport arbitration

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Sir David Williams KC is an Associate Member of Bankside Chambers, Auckland, New Zealand. Sir David is a former Justice of the High Court of New Zealand, the High Court of the Cook Islands, and the Court of the Dubai International Financial Centre. Since 2005, Sir David has been consistently praised as “one of the…

2024 in Review, Achmea, Anti-suit injunction, Colombia, Enforcement, English courts, Immunity, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Sovereign Immunity, UK, United States, United States Courts

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

The doctrine of sovereign immunity has long been a cornerstone of international law, shielding states from enforcement actions. Sovereign immunity can be subdivided in two: immunity from jurisdiction and immunity from execution. While immunity from jurisdiction means that domestic courts are prevented to hear and decide cases involving another sovereign state, immunity from execution precludes…

Culture, Emergency Arbitration, Emergency Arbitrator, Japan, Risk Management, Settlement

(Nishimura & Asahi), (Mori Hamada & Matsumoto), and (Anderson Mori & Tomotsune)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

On the opening day of the inaugural Japan International Arbitration Week, November 18, 2024, YSIAC held a panel discussion titled “Arbitration as an Advantage: Strategic Use of International Arbitration for Business Success,” in Tokyo, Japan, bringing together leading in-house counsel and private practitioners to discuss the strategic use of international arbitration by companies across various…

2024 in Review, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Latin America

(Herbert Smith Freehills), (BakerHostetler), and (Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados – BMA)/ /Leave a comment

Latin America continues to be a hotspot for investment arbitration. In 2024, investment arbitration in Latin America saw significant activity and notable developments. In addition to seeing a steady increment in arbitration cases, 2024 witnessed important legal reforms and evolving trends that are reshaping the region’s approach to investment and investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”). This…

Artificial Intelligence, Conference, Non-signatory, Switzerland, Switzerland

(Lalive), , (Homburger), , , (Swiss Arbitration), (Schellenberg Wittmer), and (Nater Dallafior Rechtsanwälte AG)/ /Leave a comment

The Swiss Arbitration Summit is back! Following the resounding success from its first edition in Geneva last year, the second edition of the Summit is scheduled to take place this year in Zurich from January 29, 2025 to February 2, 2025. The Summit is more than just a conference. It is an immersive experience that…

2024 in Review, England, English Arbitration Act, English courts, English Law, Ireland, UK

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2024 has been another fruitful year for arbitration developments in the British Isles. As part of the 2024 Year in Review series, this post considers the key judicial, legislative and institutional developments in England and Wales in the past year, as well as highlights from Ireland’s arbitration landscape.   Judicial Developments in England and Wales…

Arbitration, judicial reform, Latin America, Mexico, Reform

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On September 15, 2024, the former President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, enacted a law that profoundly modifies the Mexican judicial system at both the federal and local level. This law aims to transform the Mexican juridical system to promote accessibility, transparency, democracy, and efficiency. A significant change is the election of justices and…

Africa, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment law, Investment protection

(Tilburg Law School)/ /Leave a comment

The Patel Engineering Limited (“PEL”) v the Republic of Mozambique tribunal, constituted under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, dealt with pre-investment expenditures and whether such expenditures constitute a protected investment. Investors frequently make expenditures in the preparatory phase of an investment, such as environmental impact assessments, scientific surveys, or financial advice. When are these expenditures considered…

ICC Miami Conference, Latin America

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After concluding the first day of the 22nd ICC Miami Conference with a dinner and a fun party that kept the attendees dancing until late at night, the conference promptly resumed the next morning. Day 2 (December 3, 2024) featured an exciting lineup of discussions on various topics, including the ICC’s own Terms of Reference…

ICC Miami Conference, Latin America

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On December 2 and 3, 2024, the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) hosted the 22nd ICC Miami Conference on International Arbitration, which brought together over 800 participants from all over the world to discuss critical developments in international arbitration in Latin America, making it the largest ICC conference ever held. Honoring its title “Revisiting the…

2024 in Review, Arbitration Agreements, Dutch Supreme Court, Enforcement, Exequatur, Multi-tiered clauses, Netherlands, Netherlands Arbitration Institute, Set aside an arbitral award

(Avizor Advocates & Arbitrators)/ /Leave a comment

Following the Blog’s tradition of “year-in-review” series, this post reflects on the key arbitration developments in the Netherlands in 2024. What emerges from this review is the Netherlands’ strong arbitration-friendly culture, notably reflected in the release of the 2024 Netherlands Arbitration Institute (“NAI”) Arbitration Rules and a pro-arbitration stance in court decisions. However, a notable…

Annulment, Chile, Ecuador, Latin America, Public Policy

(Independent Arbitrator)/ /Leave a comment

On October 18, 2024, the Santiago Court of Appeals rejected a petition seeking the annulment of an international arbitration award, once again providing strong arguments in favor of the validity of international commercial awards (Case No. 12506-2022). In the twenty years since the enactment of the International Commercial Arbitration Law (ICAL) No. 19971, no international…

2024 in Review, AIAC, Anti-suit injunction, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, arbitrators’ conduct, Cambodia, Insolvency, International Commercial Courts, Malaysia, Philippines, SIAC Rules 2025, SIAC Symposium 2024, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Singapore International Commercial Court, Stay of Proceedings, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam

(Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy) and (Drew & Napier LLC)/ /Leave a comment

The year 2024 witnessed notable advancements in the Southeast Asian arbitration and dispute resolution landscape. Key developments included legislative reforms, initiatives to strengthen arbitration and legal frameworks, and landmark judicial decisions. Here’s a closer look at last year’s highlights.   Significant Advancements in Dispute Resolution Frameworks Southeast Asian countries launched modernised arbitration laws and innovative…

Access to Justice, Achmea, Europe, European Convention on Human Rights, German Federal Constitutional Court, Germany, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

, (Fietta LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 13 September 2024, the German Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, “BVG” or “the Court”) published two judgments dated 23 July 2024 (available here and here, both in German), accompanied by a press release (here), rejecting as inadmissible two constitutional complaints brought by the claimant in the Eureko (later Achmea) v Slovakia (1) arbitration (“BVG Judgments”).  While other commentators…

Emergency Arbitration, Emergency Arbitrator, Ex Parte Relief, Preliminary Orders, Protective Preliminary Orders, SIAC, SIAC Rules 2025, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

(Singapore International Arbitration Centre)/ /Leave a comment
Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)

Emergency arbitration (“EA”) was initially introduced as a procedural tool on an opt-out basis in arbitrations under the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Rules. In 2010, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) became the first institution based in Asia to introduce EA provisions in its arbitral rules. This has since been followed by…

Awards, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, Enforceability, Enforcement, ICSID, ICSID Arbitration, Spain, United States Courts

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

The third updated edition of the “Report on compliance with investment treaty awards by States” (the “2024 Report”) was released in November 2024. The Report was conducted in the summer of 2024 by the present author (see for coverage of the 2023 version of the report here and here). In light of the termination of intra-EU international…

India, Stay on enforcement

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Earlier this year, the Bombay High Court  in  Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. v. Shilpi Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (“Balmer Lawrie Decision”) reviewed an application to stay the enforcement of an arbitral award for payment of money (“Money Award”). The award debtor (“Applicant”) had already provided a 100% bank guarantee for the Money Award amount (plus…

Africa, European Union, Investment, Investment protection, right to regulate, Sustainability

(NOVA School of Law and PLMJ Lawyers)/ /Leave a comment

The EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (“SIFA” or the “Agreement”) aims at facilitating sustainable investments. Contrary to traditional investment treaties, it does not include substantive protection standards nor investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms. Rather, it seeks to enhance the regulatory landscape of the Parties to make it more investor-friendly. In this post, I wish to focus…

Argentina, Latin America

(BakerHostetler)/ /Leave a comment

Argentina’s new administration is aiming to attract foreign capital to boost the economy of the country with a new liberal and investor-friendly regime. On July 8, 2024, the Argentinean Congress approved the law No. 27,742 titled “Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentine People” (the “Law”). As discussed in prior posts, this is…

Awards, India, time-limits

(National Law School of India University )/ /Leave a comment

In the recent Indian Supreme Court (“SC”) case of Rohan Builders v. Berger Paints India, the default rule requiring termination of the arbitral mandate under section 29A(4) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Arbitration Act”) was held not to be strictly interpreted. Section 29A(4) of the Arbitration Act provides that if the award is…

India, Modification of awards

, (AZB & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

In October 2024, the Indian Department of Legal Affairs unveiled the highly anticipated Indian Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (“Bill”), inviting comments and feedback on the proposed amendments. While the Bill addresses important aspects, including the formal recognition of emergency arbitration and a clarification of the longstanding ambiguity around the “venue” of an arbitration,…

Artificial Intelligence, RIDW, United States

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Since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022, the ‘end of lawyers’ narrative has found new life. From Goldman Sachs predicting that 44% of tasks performed by corporate lawyers would be automated by Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) to GPT-4 passing the bar, AI has put the legal profession on notice. Even the infamous case of a lawyer who…

China, Enforcement, New York Convention, RIDW, Sanctions

(Hui Zhong Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

In an era increasingly defined by unilateral economic sanctions, international arbitration faces a new set of challenges. Sanctions are not only imposed on the parties but can also implicate arbitrators, as seen in Macquarie Bank Ltd v China Wanda Group Co., Ltd, (2021) Hu 74 Xie Wai Ren No.1, which concerns the enforcement of a…