The UniCredit saga has taken an unexpected turn, and the cascading legal drama shows no signs of abating. The English Court of Appeal (“EWCA”) in its recent decision dated 11th February 2025 (‘‘Revocation Order”) in UniCredit v. RusChemAlliance revoked the earlier granted anti-suit injunction by the EWCA (“ASI Order”), which was affirmed by the UK…
There is extensive commentary on South Africa’s evolution into a pro-arbitration jurisdiction. Its courts have long issued strong pro-arbitration judgments under the 1965 Arbitration Act (“Domestic Arbitration Act“) and, more recently, under the (relatively) new 2017 International Arbitration Act (“IAA“). Johannesburg also hosted the inaugural Johannesburg Arbitration Week in 2024, bringing together delegates from around the…
The Lahore High Court’s recent judgment in SpaceCom International, LLC v Wateen Telecom Ltd 2024 LHC 5494 (“SpaceCom”) is a landmark pronouncement that seeks to establish a balanced and principled interpretation of the New York Convention (“the Convention”). In brief, the Lahore High Court refused recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award on an…
The Antrix-Devas saga continues to present twists and turns (see previous coverage on the Blog here, here and here). The latest is the recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia (the “Full Court”) in Republic of India v. CCDM Holdings, LLC & Ors. [2025] FCAFC 2. This decision concerned the…
On January 30, 2025, the Constitutional Court of Chile issued a decision regarding a request for inapplicability due to the unconstitutionality of certain provisions of Law No. 19,971 on International Commercial Arbitration (“Law No. 19,971” or “International Commercial Arbitration Law”).1)Case Nº 15.144-2024, “Requerimiento de inaplicabilidad por inconstitucionalidad respecto de la expresión ‘sólo’, contenida en los…
Reflecting the ever-evolving landscape of international commercial arbitration, the latest edition of the ICCA International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration covers significant legislative developments from Greece and Israel, both of which have enacted new laws modernizing and aligning domestic frameworks with international standards. Greece’s Embrace of the UNCITRAL Model Law Greece has recently made significant…
The latest 2024 arbitration rules of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (“CRCICA”) have been in force since 15 January 2024 (“2024 CRCICA Rules”). As discussed in a previous post, the amendments introduced by the 2024 CRCICA Rules greatly promote CRCICA’s desirability as one of the leading arbitration institutions in the Middle East…
The freezing injunction, famously referred to as one of the law’s “nuclear weapons,” is a remedy developed for the purposes of preventing a judgment debtor (or potential judgment debtor) from unjustly dissipating their assets so as to prevent the judgment made against them from being enforced. This post explores how post-award freezing injunctions can be…
For decades, Italy was one of the very few countries in the world that prohibited arbitrators from granting interim relief. The situation changed in 2022 with the so-called “Cartabia” Reform, named after Professor Marta Cartabia, Italy’s Minister of Justice at the time and former president of the Constitutional Court (see also discussion here). Thanks to…
Dubai Courts’ reversal on recoverability of legal fees in arbitration under the ICC rules Earlier this year, the Dubai Court of Cassation (“DCC”) issued a judgment (“DCC Judgment 1”) setting aside an arbitral award issued under the ICC Rules of Arbitration 2021 (“ICC Rules 2021”) in part, concerning the recovery of legal fees of a…
Is there a statute of limitations applicable in France to requests for enforcement of foreign arbitral awards? On 10 December 2024, the Versailles Court of Appeal (the “Court”) responded in the affirmative and ruled that a request was time barred for having been filed more than 5 years after the issuance of the award (Case…
A five-judge Bench (“Constitution Bench”) of the Supreme Court of India (“SC”) recently delivered a landmark judgment in Central Organisation for Railway Electrification v. ECI-SPIC-SMO-MCML (JV) (“CORE-II”), on the validity of unilateral appointment clauses. The SC held that such clauses cast justifiable doubts on the independence and impartiality of arbitral tribunals. The judgment addresses various…
Can a party refuse to participate in an arbitration, and thereafter challenge the arbitral award on the ground that the arbitrator failed to consider a point which was not put in issue? The Singapore Court of Appeal (“CA”) in DEM v DEL [2025] SGCA 1 (“DEM”) decided in the negative on this novel point of…
The subject of unilateral appointment of arbitrators arising from the Supreme Court of India’s (“Court”) three-judge bench decision in Central Organization for Railway Electrification v. ECI SPIC SMO MCML (JV) (“CORE I”), which held that one party’s power to unilaterally appoint an arbitrator was counterbalanced by a choice provided to the counter party to choose…
Dating apps are now a central part of many people’s lives. Yet many users perhaps overlook that use of this kind of app usually comes with an arbitration agreement. Almost all major dating apps—including Bumble, eHarmony, Grindr, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder— incorporate broad arbitration clauses in their terms of service (“TOS”)….
2024 marked a period of several significant developments and witnessed some “firsts” for the African arbitration community. Notwithstanding the constantly changing political climate and policies in different countries across the continent, the continued growth of arbitration in Africa remains relentless with exciting events and collaborations as well as judicial, legislative and institutional developments. These events…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) is witnessing a significant surge in construction activity, from leading giga projects (such as NEOM and the Red Sea Project) to being selected as the host of the FIFA World Cup 2034 and Expo 2030. The KSA is now at the forefront of the region in this industry and…
2024 proved to be a pivotal year for the development of arbitration in Pakistan, driven by the government’s concerted efforts to reform Pakistan’s arbitration framework. Legislative developments therefore took the centre stage. Key developments also included important judicial decisions under the existing regime. Legislative Reform The most significant development was the unveiling of the…
In the case of Parkdenton Ltd v Euro General Retail Ltd t/a EuroGiant [2024] IEHC 387 (Nolan J) a set aside application pursuant to two of the four grounds as per Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law was rejected by the High Court. The application sought to set aside an arbitration award on the…
As part of the 2024 Year in Review series, this post highlights the most significant arbitration-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“SFSC”) in 2024. The 2024 decisions provide welcome (and, in some case, vividly debated) clarifications on the issues of the tribunal’s jurisdiction, the arbitrator’s impartiality, the remedy of revision and the enforcement…
Continuing with the trend of previous years, 2024 saw continued development throughout the region. In Australia, we saw an influx of meaningful, pro-arbitration court decisions, in the Pacific Islands, we saw the strengthening of legal frameworks, and in New Zealand, we saw a clarification of public policy considerations. We delve into these standout developments and…
Can an arbitral tribunal revisit issues of liability after rendering an interim award in bifurcated proceedings? This was the question put to the High Court of Australia (the “Court”) in CBI Constructors Pty Ltd & Anor v Chevron Australia Pty Ltd [2024] HCA 28. In a judgment considering the concepts of finality and functus officio…
Following the Blog’s established tradition, this post provides an overview of key developments in the field of arbitration in a selection of jurisdictions in Eastern Europe. This year’s highlights include significant legislative improvements, far-reaching judicial decisions from domestic courts, including the evolution of Russia’s counter-sanctions regime, and a potentially consequential ruling by the European Court…
The Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region entered 2024 amidst continuing political and economic instability. In spite of these challenging circumstances, the past year brought significant advancements in the international dispute resolution space—building on those already achieved in 2023. 2024 saw Abu Dhabi launch the brand new Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (as discussed…
