The Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (The Hungarian Commercial Arbitration Court or ‘HCAC’) has recently adopted its revised rules of proceedings that went into effect on 31 December 2022. This development is particularly significant for the Hungarian arbitration landscape given that HCAC has exclusive competence over commercial, financial…

East and Central Asia made further strides to promote arbitration, including through legislative reforms and enhancement of judicial assistance, as well as the accession, ratification, and creation of treaties.  Some domestic courts clarified views on fundamental issues in arbitration.  On the user side, East and Central Asian parties continued to be active as both claimants…

The current debate on the future of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system seems not to leave anyone indifferent. Two camps can be discerned in the debate; the first comprising those who would argue that ISDS is in need of reform, and the second those who defend the ISDS system as is. The MOL v….

On October 17, 2022, the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ecuador (“Ecuador”) signed in Quito a “Host Country Agreement” (the “Agreement”). This news has been well received, both in the Ecuadorian and the international arbitration community. It is also the culmination of…

International arbitration is reputed for its flexibility shaped by the underlying principle of party autonomy. Past years have witnessed the development of various types of funding arrangements for arbitration users, including third-party funding (“TPF”) and, most recently, alternative fee arrangements with counsel (“AFAs”) in Singapore and Hong Kong. While these new initiatives undoubtedly increase flexibility…

Arbitration’s key strength lies in the near-universal enforcement of its arbitral awards. The 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“New York Convention”) offers parties the benefit of going under a uniform enforcement regime in all of its Contracting States. But whilst it is a popular choice, the New York Convention…

A seminar on 10 November 2023 during Australian Arbitration Week discussed “Australia’s engagement in the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) reform process”. My presentation divided successive governments’ approach into three significant eras over the last decade: anti-ISDS (2011-13), case-by-case ISDS (2014-2021), and uncertainty (since 2022). Some uncertainty has dissipated since the seminar. On 14 November 2022,…

A slate of recent cases reminded us how important are the doctrines of res judicata and/or collateral estoppel. Put simply, res judicata is known as claim preclusion because a judicial judgment or arbitral award deciding a particular “claim” will be binding on the parties who participated in that proceeding, whereas collateral estoppel is known as…

This year, the arbitration team at SOAS consisting of Emilia Onyema, Steven Finizio and Baiju Vasani in cooperation with the African Legal Support Facility of the African Development Bank, organised and delivered four separate “counsel in arbitration skills-based training” workshops in collaboration with four arbitral centres in Africa: in Lagos (LACIAC), Douala (CMAG), Kigali (KIAC)…

As part of the 2022 Istanbul Arbitration Week (ISTAW) organized from 10 to 14 October 2022, the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC), which is the only energy sector-based arbitration center with its own rules, hosted several panels in relation to energy arbitration at historical Sait Halim Pasha Mansion by the Bosphorus. This post provides a…

As part of the 2022 Istanbul Arbitration Week (ISTAW) organized from 10 to 14 October 2022, the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC) hosted two panels in relation to arbitration developments in Turkey and Istanbul’s place in the world of arbitration, on which this post aims to report (see also our coverage of ISTAW energy-related panels)….

The Commercial Court of Appeals in the City of Buenos Aires recently granted a request for preliminary measures. These measures aimed to obtain the necessary elements to analyze and determine whether the counterparty had breached a stock purchase agreement that included an arbitration clause as the dispute-settlement mechanism. In this post, we discuss whether courts…

The landmark decision of the UK Supreme Court (the “Court”) handed down in 2021 in the case Kabab-Ji SAL v. Kout Food Group  has already attracted considerable attention. Thus far comments focused on the Court’s construction of the New York Convention of 1958. Yet, the decision deserves a second look – which this post aims…

The Republic of China, also known as “Taiwan,” is among the world’s leading economies.  In 2021, Taiwan had a gross domestic product of US$ 670 billion, predicted to increase by 6.45% in 2022; by 2026, Taiwan is projected to be the world’s twentieth largest economy.  Taiwan was the United States’ eleventh largest trading partner in…

On 7 October 2022, the High Court of the Republic of Singapore (“High Court”) delivered a landmark decision on the enforceability of foreign emergency arbitration awards in CVG v CVH. The High Court rejected the enforceability of the emergency award on the ground of procedural irregularity, reinforcing the importance of due process even in cases where…

On 17 April 2022, the president of Turkmenistan signed a law on accession of Turkmenistan to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention” or “Convention”). The Government of Turkmenistan deposited the instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 4 May 2022. In…

Despite the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and constant terror, Ukrainian courts continue to function and deliver justice. Recently, the Supreme Court has adopted a landmark judgment regarding the enforcement of ICSID awards in Ukraine, which is set to change judicial practice going forward. Our colleagues previously highlighted the deficiencies of the Ukrainian court…

The Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei and Asian Center for WTO & International Health Law and Policy co-hosted the annual Taipei International Conference on Arbitration and Mediation during the Taiwan Arbitration Week on 5 October 2022. With onsite and online moderators and speakers, three sessions of the Conference explored how the pandemic, digital economy and ESG…

The Chinese Arbitration Association, Taipei and Asian Center for WTO & International Health Law and Policy co-hosted this year’s Taipei International Conference on Arbitration and Mediation during the Taiwan Arbitration Week on 5 October 2022. With onsite and online moderators and speakers, three sessions of the Conference explored how the pandemic, digital economy and ESG…

“International Conference: Expeditious Dispensation of Justice – ADR The Way Forward” was held on 1 and 2 September, 2022 at Serena Hotel, Islamabad, Pakistan and in the Islamabad High Court respectively. The conference was dedicated to exploring the ways in which alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and arbitration can support the progressive development of the legal…

A North American energy trade war may be on the horizon. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is backstepping the opening of Mexican energy markets by halting the issuance of permits, providing competitive advantages to state-owned enterprises, and attacking independent regulators. The re-centralization of the energy sector is being done in the name of Mexico’s…

Over the last few years, arbitrator independence and impartiality have been under heightened scrutiny by courts and tribunals. This is not unexpected. The importance of the rule against bias is best explained by Lord Denning’s dictum in Metropolitan Properties Co (FGC) Ltd v Lannon [1969] 1 QB 577 where he held that “[j]ustice must be…

On the third and final day of CanArb Week 2022, the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee held its annual conference titled The New World. The conference sessions were bookended by opening and closing remarks by Professor Janet Walker (Chair, ICC Canada, Atkin Chambers, Full Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School) and Myriam Seers (Vice-Chair, ICC Canada, Partner,…

The third edition of CanArb Week took place in Montréal from October 19 to 21, 2022. Speakers from all walks of arbitration life (academics, arbitrators, counsel, experts, leaders of arbitral institutions, and third party funders), as well as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, gathered in the “Paris of North America”, to the delight of…