On 12 May 2023, the Santiago Court of Appeals (“Court”) denied EP Petroecuador’s (“Petroecuador”) (Ecuador national oil company) petition to set aside a US$63 million international commercial arbitration award. The decision is consistent with the Court’s history of denying petitions to set aside international commercial arbitration awards and marks an important milestone for Servicios Integrados…

In 2011, the ITA published its inaugural Guide to Arbitral Institutions in Latin America and an accompanying “Scoreboard.” The conclusion of this inaugural guide was: “The era of Latin American arbitral institutions has arrived. Building on a strong legal framework, arbitral institutions have emerged throughout the region.” This year, the Americas Initiative of the ITA…

The first arbitral institution providing institutional arbitration in Iran, the Arbitration Center of the Iran Chamber of Commerce (“ACIC”), released the latest edition of its arbitration rules on 19 February 2023. The new ACIC arbitration rules (“New Rules“), which came into effect in May 2023, replace the previous 2007 edition (“2007 Rules”). The New Rules…

On Friday, 26 May 2023, the UNCITRAL National Coordination Committee for Australia (UNCCA) hosted its eighth annual May Seminar at the University of Canberra. This event, which took the form of a full-day conference, saw participants from all over Australia in the fields of government, private practice, and academia, spanning from students to eminent practitioners….

On August 6, 2020, an arbitral tribunal composed of Andrés Rigo Sureda (P), O. Thomas Johnson, Jr., and Pierre Mayer (the Tribunal), constituted under the agreement between the United Kingdom and Uruguay for the promotion and protection of investments (the BIT), issued an award in Prenay Agarwal, Vinita Agarwal and Ritika Mehta v. Uruguay (PCA…

One of the reasons that parties opt in for arbitration instead of litigation as a mechanism to settle their disputes is that the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award is easier to accomplish than the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment rendered by a state court. The Netherlands has been a party to…

International Law Talk is a series of podcasts through which Wolters Kluwer provides the latest news and industry insights from thought leaders and experts in the fields of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law, and Competition Law. Here at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, we highlight the podcasts focused on international arbitration. In this latest episode,…

Mexico’s new National Code for Civil and Family Procedure was published on 7 June 2023 (“National Code”). The National Code will apply at both federal and local levels, and will replace both the Federal Code of Civil Procedure and the thirty-two local codes of civil procedure across all Mexican states. The National Code will enter…

In a judgment issued by the Dubai Court of Cassation (“COC”) on 8 June 2023  (Dubai Court of Cassation No. 1514/2022 Commercial), the COC confirmed that the condition precedent of referring the dispute to the engineer prior to filing arbitral proceedings is an issue pertaining to admissibility, not jurisdiction. The same judgment also provided insight…

The Republic of Türkiye is a strategic market which straddles Europe and Asia, providing an intersection of various cultures, languages, and religions.  Türkiye is also well-versed in foreign investment, both inward and outward, in large part due to its geographical location and long history.  Indeed approximately one-fifth of economic activity in Türkiye depends on foreign…

In June 2018, an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal issued an award against Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty. The successful claimants then commenced proceedings in Australia seeking recognition and enforcement under the ICSID Convention. Spain responded that it had not submitted to, and therefore had immunity from, the jurisdiction of…

A recent decision of the Hanoi People’s Court, Decision No. 12/2023/QD-PPT dated 4 July 2023 (“Decision 12”), held that a power-of-attorney (“POA”) signed outside of Vietnam and authorizing the signing and filing of an arbitration in Vietnam must have received consular authentication. In doing so, the Court clarifies the approach taken by the Ho Chi…

The recently reported investment treaty claim by Singapore-based mining company Zeph Investments (“Zeph”) against Australia appears to be the latest in investor-State dispute claims arising out of climate change-related measures introduced by States. The claim was first disclosed on 10 July 2023 by the Attorney General’s Department of Australia in response to a question on…

The question of the validity of unilateral arbitral appointments in the Indian scenario has risen above the surface yet again. The Delhi High Court recently, in Margo Networks Pvt. Ltd. and Another v Railtel Corporation of India Ltd (“Margo”), reiterated the conflict in the existing legal position and the need for finality on this issue….

Investment treaty arbitration tribunals have addressed issues surrounding State intervention and States’ regulatory freedom time and time again, consequently creating guiding precedent regarding State conduct that could constitute breaches of the fair and equitable treatment (“FET”) or expropriation standards. However, recently, an investment treaty arbitration tribunal not only had to deal with issues surrounding the…

For years, Albania did not have a self-standing arbitration law or even any legislative provisions specifically on arbitration. Until 2013, the Albanian Civil Procedure Code did contain some provisions on arbitration, but these were repealed in 2013. On 6 July 2023, after several years of discussions and drafts, the Albanian Parliament adopted an arbitration law…

Mr. Vu Anh Duong is the Secretary General of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (“VIAC“), which is the leading Vietnamese arbitration and mediation institution. Mr. Duong has contributed significantly to the development of arbitration in Vietnam in various ways; in addition to his role with the VIAC, Mr. Duong has served as a member of various drafting committees dealing…

The recent reform of Italian arbitration law, which went into effect on 28 February 2023, has finally put an end to the historical prohibition for Italian-seated sole arbitrators and arbitral tribunals to grant interim measures. This ban was one of the most atypical features of Italian arbitration law (which is still found only in very…

Ban Jiun Ean is the Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers, the world’s first integrated dispute resolution center in the heart of Singapore. Maxwell Chambers assembled arbitral institutions, service providers, and legal practitioners under the same roof, making the Chamber a one-stop shop for customers in a facility equipped with best-in-class hearing facilities and state-of-the-art supporting…

The Lone Star v. Korea (Lone Star) Award issued on 30 August 2022 is one of the latest investment awards in tax-related investment treaty disputes and the first one in which a tribunal, inter alia, dealt with the application of an anti-tax avoidance substance over form doctrine (SOFD) under a double taxation treaty (DTT). The…

The English High Court’s judgment in Infrastructure Services v Spain is one of the most important developments of the past year in relation to the enforcement of intra-EU investment awards. It arises out of the Luxembourgish and Dutch claimants’ successful ICSID arbitration against Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), in which the tribunal held…

On 25 October 2022, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”) upheld a decision that suspended the filing of a proof of claim in bankruptcy proceedings and, consequently, prevented the plaintiff from participating in the general meeting of creditors (see, Appeal to the SCJ n. 1.774.649, 25 October 2022, Amapari Energia S.A. v. Zamin Amapá…

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of Western Australia (“WA”) Court of Appeal confirmed that courts have the conclusive authority to determine the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals. The Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA) (the “Act”) confers competence upon arbitral tribunals to determine their own jurisdiction. However, courts retain authority to review questions of jurisdiction….

In its decision of 24 April 2023, the Belgian Supreme Court upheld the Brussels Court’s judgment of 17 June 2021 (discussed here), thereby confirming that arbitral secretaries can assist in drafting arbitral awards, provided that the arbitral tribunal is still calling the shots. This post explains how this recent decision (discussed here) reflects the doctrine’s…