Jurisdiction

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, International Courts, Middle East

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

“…so many construction disputes are now heading towards arbitration” remarks the calling notice for the next Society of Construction Law-Gulf event in Dubai in April. Around the world, the economic downturn is producing very many financial disputes. The speculation is that with the global recession deepening, the number of arbitrations is set to spiral upwards….

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe

(Baker & McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

A recent decision of the English High Court (F Ltd v M Ltd [2009] EWHC 275 (TCC)) confirms that the Court may intervene and allow successful challenge of an arbitral award in order to protect parties against the unfair conduct of an arbitration. However, the case also demonstrates that the applicable test (i.e. a serious…

Arbitrators, Europe, Legal Practice, Legislation, National Arbitration Laws

(Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler)/ /5 Comments
Herbert Smith Freehills

I. Introduction On 9 February 2009 the Swiss Federal Tribunal (FT) quashed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) award (Case reference 4A_400/2008). Annulment of an award is a rare enough event to call attention in itself, though this case warrants further inspection. The issue is not the choice of the applicable law (Article 187…

Arbitration Proceedings, Europe

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

Article 186 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (“PIL Act”) provides as follows: “1. The arbitral tribunal shall decide on its own jurisdiction. 1bis. It shall decide on its jurisdiction notwithstanding an action on the same matter between the same parties already pending before a state court or another arbitral tribunal, unless there are…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, North America

(The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Law and Department of International Relations)/ /Leave a comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

Two weeks ago, an LCIA tribunal issued its Award on Remedies in a dispute filed by the U.S. against Canada under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA). This dispute is interesting in many respects. Most obviously, it is a state-to-state dispute adjudicated under the auspices of the LCIA, more commonly used for commercial arbitration. This…

Arbitration Awards, Commercial Arbitration, North America

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 1369 (2008) has provoked substantial commentary – as with many Supreme Court decisions regarding arbitration. The Hall Street decision held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) did not permit parties contractually to expand the grounds for vacating or…

Arbitrators, Domestic Courts, Europe

(Stylopoulos & Associates)/ /Leave a comment

The mechanism for referring questions regarding a preliminary ruling allows the national judge to ask the ECJ for a clarification on a point of EC law. Art 234 EC Treaty, governing preliminary rulings before the ECJ, applies to national courts or tribunals ruling as courts of final appeal and it does not open up directly…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Europe, New York Convention, North America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

Last week I attended a wonderful conference at Pepperdine Law School on international sports arbitrations administered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It is a remarkably sophisticated regime that deserves far greater attention than it typically receives by the international arbitration community. Under the CAS Rules, all CAS tribunals have their seat in…

Europe, Investment Arbitration

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /1 Comment

This week, many are talking about the long-awaited European Court of Justice judgments which have held Sweden and Austria in breach of their European Community Law obligations. (A third case against Finland has been delayed slightly, but will likely be resolved in the same way by the ECJ). According to the ECJ, Austria and Sweden…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Enforcement, Investment Arbitration, South America

(International Council for Commercial Arbitration)/ /2 Comments
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

In light of interest in the international arbitration community concerning investment treaty cases against Argentina since the 2001 economic crisis, we thought it could be useful to share Freshfields’ working collation. We caution that this is based only on public records and press reports. Corrections are welcome. According to our data, 46 treaty cases have…

Commercial Arbitration, North America

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /1 Comment
WilmerHale

Just over one week ago, two pieces of anti-arbitration legislation – the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 (H. R. 1020) and the Consumer Fairness Act of 2009 (H. R. 991) – were formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both acts would limit the ability to arbitrate consumer disputes, and the Arbitration Fairness Act…

Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, Europe

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In its decision of 9 December 2008 (4A_403/2008), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court took the opportunity to clarify its practice regarding the enforcement of arbitral awards that are suspended at the foreign seat of arbitration. In the case before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, Company Y requested recognition in Switzerland of an arbitral award rendered…

Arbitration Awards, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe

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

On October 9, 2008, the Paris Court of Appeal rendered two decisions confirming the importance of estoppel in international arbitration. See Merial SAS v. Klocke Verpackungs – Service GmbH, October 9, 2008, Case no. 07-06619; Marocaine des Loisirs v. France Quick SAS, October 9, 2008, Case no. 07-14539.

Domestic Courts, Enforcement, Europe, New York Convention

(Clifford Chance LLP)/ /Leave a comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

To enhance predictability when litigating disputes arising out of international business transactions, the U.S. signed the June 30, 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Convention”) on January 19, 2009. In the U.S., such clauses are typically referred to as forum selection clauses, which are almost always included in contracts arising out of…

Commercial Arbitration, Europe, Legal Practice

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent decision dated 10 October 2008 (4A_224/2008), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court found an arbitral tribunal competent to decide on a party’s request that its contractual partner should refrain from calling a bank guarantee. A Turkish company active in the production of fertilizer (X A.S.) had concluded a construction contract under which its…

Arbitration Proceedings, Domestic Courts, Europe, International Courts, National Arbitration Laws

(University College Cork)/ /1 Comment

The European Court of Justice issued its eagerly awaited judgment in the so-called West Tankers or Front Comor case on 10 February 2009. To many in the arbitration community, especially those based in London, it will come as a disappointing, if not altogether surprising, conclusion of a lengthy legal saga, which began over eight years…

Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, National Arbitration Laws, North America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /3 Comments

Questions regarding the future of the FAA are no longer of passing concern. With a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress, there is a significant likelihood that some version of the proposed “Arbitration Fairness Act” will become law. As one prominent academic said to me this weekend, “The worst part about Obama getting elected is…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Investment Arbitration, North America

(American Society of International Law)/ /Leave a comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

The American Society of International Law is pleased to join a number of organizations and institutions contributing to this on-line discussion of current issues in international arbitration. We have long provided a forum for the international arbitration community to come together and share ideas-in print, at our meetings, or on line-and we consider this new…

Arbitrators, Europe, Legal Practice

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In its decision of 6 October 2008 (5A_201/2008), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court had another opportunity to address its practice regarding conflicts of interests of part-time judges and arbitrators. It had stated in earlier decisions that a judge is deemed to be biased if he or she acts or recently acted as counsel for one…