Jurisdiction

BIT, Europe, European Law, Investment Arbitration, Other Issues, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(White & Case LLP)/ /2 Comments
White & Case

The growing success of investment arbitration may collide with the European Commission’s attitude towards intra-EU BITs, as shown recently by a development reported in August 2010 (the IA Reporter, August 5, 2010, Vol. 3, No. 12) regarding the Eureko v. Slovakia arbitration. In this case, Eureko initiated a claim against the Slovak Republic based on…

Canada, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, NAFTA, North America

(White & Case)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

Three different investors, with three different claims, in three different situations, have recently been in the news. All three disputes have a Canadian connection. Two involved claims by foreign investors against Canada, one that settled and one that Canada defeated. The third involves a claim by a Canadian investor against the Democratic Republic of Congo….

Asia-Pacific, UN and Int’l Organizations

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

There are some interesting comments in the live blog of the UNCTAD International Investment Agreements Conference from the likes of Todd Weiler, Susan Franck, and Jason Yackee. (You can also watch the proceedings here). Much substance in the coverage, but also some fun. Here’s a taste: Todd Weiler: As I see Prof Franck is performing…

Asia-Pacific, Crown Immunity, Dispute resolution clause, Sovereign Immunity

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Everyone is looking at China at the moment, and rightly so. It’s a very exciting place to be. Many MNCs are already here and many others are determined to get a piece of the action. But where there’s business, there are disputes. And where there’s international business, there’s arbitration. There is no doubt that the…

Arbitration Proceedings, Canada

(Caribbean Arbitrators, Arbitration Place, 33 Bedford Row Chambers)/ /1 Comment

So far in 2010, at least two jurisdictions have established specialized courts to handle international arbitration matters ─ Australia (in the state of Victoria) and India (in Bombay). Australia: Within Australia’s federal structure, international arbitration matters are in the jurisdiction of state supreme courts. In 2009, Australia’s Parliament gave the Federal Court concurrent jurisdiction over…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Russia

(White & Case LLP)/ /2 Comments
White & Case

The clearest indication of a shift in the approach of the Russian arbitrazh (commercial) courts* came in April 2010, when the Presidium of Russia’s Supreme Arbitrazh (Commercial) Court issued a precedential decision, holding that interim relief measures may be ordered by Russian arbitrazh courts in aid of foreign arbitration. The ruling has resolved an ongoing…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Russia

(Muranov, Chernyakov and Partners)/ /4 Comments

It is well known that the New York Convention is widely recognized as a foundational instrument of international arbitration. In addition to this Convention, there are also international bilateral agreements in which Paragraph 1 of Article VII of the New York Convention specifically refers to and determines the relationship between its provisions and other agreements….

Canada, ICSID Convention

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White & Case

A significant majority of countries in the world have demonstrated that they see benefits in being a member of ICSID by ratifying the ICSID Convention (Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States). 144 states have ratified the treaty, and an additional 11 – including Canada – have signed…

Arbitration Act, UNCITRAL Model Law, United States

(Conway & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Often viewed as one of the leading locations for international arbitrationss, why doesn’t the state of New York have a separate arbitration act for international arbitrations? Is it simply unnecessary? It is interesting to note in my 2 previous articles, that other states have found it absolutely necessary. Recently, as previously discussed, the state of…

Africa, BIT, Investment Arbitration

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /1 Comment
YIAG

Following the controversial land reform programme first introduced by President Robert Mugabe in July 2000, Zimbabwe has found itself in hot water of late, with a number of international disputes being brought by dispossessed farmers against the State. The first of these disputes was mounted at ICSID in 2005 by a group of 13 Dutch…

Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), United States

(Conway & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Many leading jurisdictions in international arbitration have adopted all or part of the UN Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“Model Law”). The question that remains is: Why Hasn’t the United States? The Federal Arbitration Act does provide many similarities to the Model Law. They both address enforcement of an arbitral award, grounds for setting…

Canada, North America, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Caribbean Arbitrators, Arbitration Place, 33 Bedford Row Chambers)/ /1 Comment

It is true that Canada did not qualify for FIFA’s World Cup and did not dominate at the Winter Olympics. However, when it comes to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Commercial Arbitration, Canada is a leader. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Model Law. Since becoming the first state signatory to the Model…

Domestic Courts, North America, South America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /1 Comment

The ongoing saga regarding Chevron’s legal travails in Ecuador took an interesting twist this week. As I reported earlier, Chevron has secured key outtakes of the movie Crude that appeared to show alarming collusion between the plaintiff lawyers and the Court-appointed expert. According to pleadings filed yesterday pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1782, the outtakes include…

Arbitration Act, United States

(Conway & Partners)/ /4 Comments

This year, the State of Florida, with significant help from the many international practitioners working in Florida, proposed and passed a bill changing the Florida Arbitration Act to substantially match the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“Model Law”). On May 12, 2010, Governor Crist signed into law Bill CS/HB 821 modifying Florida Statutes…

Arbitration Awards, BIT, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

The 14 July 2010 Award in Saba Fakes v. Turkey (Fakes) is notable because it expressly disapproves of the approach taken by the Tribunal in Phoenix Action v. Czech Republic, which found in its 15 April 2009 Award that good faith and legality are jurisdictional requirements for access to ICSID arbitration. Fakes is a welcome addition to…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Russia

(Muranov, Chernyakov and Partners)/ /1 Comment

Last month a number of noteworthy arbitration-related developments took place in Moscow. Firstly, the international conference “Commercial Arbitration in Russia, Sweden and the UK: New Business Opportunities”, was held on 9-10 June at the Congress Center of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference was jointly organized by the Center of Arbitration and…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Switzerland

(ArbBoutique & Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

Switzerland may be one of the world’s most important arbitral seats, even so one would scarcely expect arbitration to hold much interest for the tubercular residents of Davos in Mann’s novel Der Zauberberg or The Magic Mountain. Yet aficionados of arbitration who persevere to the sixth chapter of his lengthy book are treated to a…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Disclosure, Domestic Courts, United States

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

As is well known, Section 1782(a) provides that a “the district court of the district in which a person resides or is found may order him to give his testimony or statement or to produce a document or other thing for use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal”. The applicability of 28…

Arbitration clause, Enforcement, EU Regulation 44/ 2001, Europe

(Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The discussion on the position of arbitration in the Brussels Jurisdiction and Enforcement Regulation (Regulation 44/ 2001) has now reached the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament. Just to remind those less familiar with the issue: the present Regulation, as well as the preceding Jurisdiction Convention, allowed courts in EU countries to assume…

Enforcement, Europe, Public Policy

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

When discussing public policy, English lawyers like to quote the famous comment of an English judge in the early 19th century that “public policy is a very unruly horse, and once you get astride it you never know where it will carry you”. Recent history shows how difficult it is to ride the ‘unruly horse’;…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Jurisdiction, Legal Practice

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a decision dated 8 December 2009, published on 13 June 2010 (case 4A_446/2009, published as 136 III 107), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court held that persons acting as board of directors of a company that subsequently became insolvent cannot rely on an arbitration clause contained in the articles of association of that insolvent company…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Jurisdiction, Legal Practice

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In two decisions both dated 11 January 2010, published on 16 April 2010 (cases 4A_256/2009 and 4A_258/2009), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court dismissed two appeals regarding the irregular constitution of an arbitral tribunal by stating that the complainant failed to sufficiently substantiate his allegations. Background In 2006, two ICC arbitrations were initiated. They had the…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Jurisdiction, Legal Practice

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a decision dated 11 February 2010, published on 29 March 2010 (case 4A_444/2009), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against a tribunal’s decision that it had jurisdiction over a request for declaration that damages are owed due to the violation of an arbitration clause. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal because it…

Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, South America

(Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)/ /1 Comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

This year’s ICCA Congress in Rio de Janeiro not only confirmed that nobody knows to party better than cariocas, but also served as an impressive reminder of the increasing pro-arbitration approach of Brazilian courts, the remarkable growth in the number of arbitration proceedings in Brazil and the high sophistication of the Brazilian arbitration bar. Yet…