Jurisdiction

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Jordan, Validity

(Amereller)/ /Leave a comment

In many Arab countries, including Jordan, special legislative and regulatory instruments are in place to provide certain protections for local commercial agents and distributors. The relevant laws regularly vest the local courts with exclusive jurisdiction to rule on disputes between agents/distributors and principals. Such exclusive jurisdiction rules prevent derogation from the jurisdiction of local state courts…

Australia, Domestic arbitration, UNCITRAL Model Law

, / /1 Comment

A little over a decade has passed since the introduction of the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration in Australia as the framework for uniform domestic arbitration legislation. Before this, the various enactments of domestic legislation in the Australian states and territories had followed English Acts. For example, the New South Wales 1902 Arbitration Act…

Administrative Contracts, Bolivia, Chile, ISDS, Latin America

, (Dentons Larraín Rencoret) and , (Dentons Guevara & Gutiérrez S.C.)/ /1 Comment

After the October 2021’s plebiscite, Chile began the process of drafting a new constitution, which was entrusted to a “Convención Constituyente“. After a year of work, on July 4, 2022, the final proposal was delivered to the President of the Republic.  The proposed constitution will be submitted to a ratifying plebiscite in September of this…

Arbitration Act, Arbitrator Challenges, Arbitrator Selection, Brazil, Brazilian Arbitration Act, Conflicts of interest, Debate, Disclosure, double hatting, Independence and Impartiality, judicial reform, regulation

(FCDG - Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide Advogados) and (University of Cambridge)/ /1 Comment

The 1996 Brazilian Arbitration Act (the “BAA”), which subjects domestic and international arbitrations to the same set of rules, has been modified only once through the 2015 amendment (the “2015 Amendment”). On July 6, 2022, Brazilian party leaders signed a Motion of Urgency to bypass the standard legislative process – which usually comprises public consultations…

Central Asia, Challenge of Arbitral Award, Court Assistance, Interim measures, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Suspension of Proceedings, Termination, Uzbekistan

(PraeLegal Uzbekistan)/ /Leave a comment

Uzbekistan has updated certain legislative acts in connection with the recent adoption of the Law “On International Commercial Arbitration” (No. O’RQ-674) in 2021 (as previously covered in this blog). On May 16, 2022, the President of Uzbekistan signed a new law “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in…

Annulment, Arbitration, Brazil, Brazilian Arbitration Act, Set aside an arbitral award

(BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão Advogados)/ /1 Comment

As most arbitration laws, the Brazilian Arbitration Act (Law n. 9307/1996; “BAL”) establishes a short deadline for any interested party to seek annulment of an arbitral award in court. The interested party has a 90-day period as from (i) notice of the partial or final arbitral award or (ii) the decision on a motion for clarification…

Costa Rica, Fair and Equitable Treatment, ICSID Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Latin America

(DJ Arbitraje)/ /Leave a comment

On 29 June 2022, an ICSID Tribunal composed of Alexis Mourre, Luis González García and Adolfo Jiménez issued its Final Award in the case brought by Alejandro Diego Díaz Gaspar, a Spanish national, against Costa Rica. The majority of the Tribunal ultimately found minor breaches of the underlying Costa Rica-Spain Bilateral Investment Treaty (the “Treaty”)…

European Law, Russia, Sanctions

, (AZHA Avocats)/ /Leave a comment

On 21 July 2022, the European Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2022/1271 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP and Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1269 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. One of the amendments introduced by the European Council appears to have assuaged the concerns of arbitral institutions…

Anti-arbitration, Anti-arbitration Injunction, Immunity, Latin America, Venezuela

(Twenty Essex)/ /Leave a comment

Can a court restrain a State from pursuing civil proceedings in a foreign jurisdiction? This was the question before the English High Court in UK P&I Club N.V. and United Kingdom Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association Ltd v República Bolivariana de Venezuela RCGS “Resolute” [2022] EWHC 1655 (Comm). UK P&I Club N.V. (the “English Club”)…

Andorra, Arbitration, International arbitration

, (Arbitral Tribunal of the Principality of Andorra (ATPA))/ /Leave a comment

The history of arbitration in the Principality of Andorra began with two arbitration procedures in the years 1278 and 1288 which led to the signing, between the Bishop of Urgell and the Earl of Foix, of the Paréages which created the Principality. Despite this historical background and the fact that arbitration has been conducted in…

Canada, Conflicts of interest, Counsel, Ethics, NAFTA

(Bocconi University) and (Association ARBITRI)/ /2 Comments

Not so long ago, as a lawyer you started your career at the same firm from which you would later retire. Today, the opposite is true. Ambitious young lawyers and sometimes even entire practice groups move to new firms. Counsel switch between in-house and law firm positions, between public and private employers, and occasionally between…

Serbia, Third party funding

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Third-party funding is not directly addressed in Serbian legislation. Consequently, there is widespread debate as to whether third-party funding is allowed under Serbian law. This post analyses whether third-party funding of arbitration costs and associated legal fees is admissible in Serbia. It further addresses the conditions that have to be met in order for such…

Appeal, Arbitration Procedure, Australia, Bifurcation of proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Functus Officio, Interim Award

(Quayside Chambers) and (Quayside Chambers, Fountain Court Chambers)/ /2 Comments

Winston Churchill said in 1942 that the war was not at the end, adding: “It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. When it comes to international arbitration, the beginning is easy enough to discern from the notice of arbitration. Divining the end can be…

Damages, India, Liquidated Damages, Supreme Court of India, UK, UK Supreme Court

and (Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas)/ /Leave a comment

Arbitral tribunals are often faced with questions concerning the interpretation and enforcement of liquidated damages clauses; in such cases, the law governing the contract can significantly affect what damages can be claimed, the standard for proving such damages, and consequently the outcome of the dispute. This blog post examines the differences between English law and…

Canada, Investment Arbitration, NAFTA, USMCA

(University of Ottawa Faculty of law)/ /Leave a comment

This question of first impression under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been brought to the fore with the spring 2022 publication of the Request for Arbitration (“Request”) submitted by TC Energy Corporation and TransCanada PipeLines Limited against United States (dated November 22, 2021) and the Notice of Intent (“Notice”) submitted by Alberta Petroleum Marketing…

German Federal Constitutional Court, Germany, Pechstein case, Sport arbitration

(King & Spalding LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The arbitration world’s most famous ice skater, Claudia Pechstein, has won a stage victory in her long-lasting and widely discussed struggle against the international sports arbitration system. On June 3, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG), Beschluss vom 3.6.2022, 1 BvR 2103/16) sided with Pechstein in her constitutional complaint against a ruling of the…

BIT, Fair and Equitable Treatment, ICSID Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, Spain

(University of Montreal) and (Ho Chi Minh City University of Law)/ /Leave a comment

The Spanish Cases Saga illustrates the arduous task of balancing the host state’s right to regulate and an investor’s economic interests. This post summarizes the tribunal’s reasoning in Novenergia v. Spain and Stadtwerke München v. Spain regarding FET breaches in the energy sector. The post argues that the latter case adopts a clearer analysis of…

ALARB, Due process, Latin America, Technology, Virtual hearings

(Bomchil) and (Pérez Bustamante & Ponce)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

While prior to the COVID-19 pandemic it was usual for international arbitration practitioners to conduct videoconferencing or telecommunications remotely for certain procedural events (i.e., initial case management conferences or witness examinations), pandemic restrictions imposed in early 2020 led to a substantial change in the way international arbitration proceedings are conducted—forcing practitioners to hold any kind…

Achmea, Energy Charter Treaty, Enforcement, EU Law, Germany, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU ISDS

, (WAGNER Arbitration)/ /1 Comment

Germany found itself as the hotseat of the “battle” between EU law and investment arbitration in May 2016 when the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) referred questions relating to the compatibility of EU law with the arbitration clause in the Slovakia-Netherlands BIT to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) in Slovakia v….

Chile, Enforcement, Investor-State arbitration, Pey Casado, Spain

, (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

The case involving Mr. Víctor Pey Casado, the President Allende Foundation, the 1960s Chilean newspaper “El Clarín” and the Republic of Chile – once the longest-running dispute in ICSID history – is certainly a complex one. The dispute has spanned more than twenty years, encompassing three different arbitration proceedings with three separate arbitral awards issued…

Adhesion Contracts, Brazil, Brazilian Superior Court of Justice, Competence-Competence, Enforcement of arbitration agreement, Pathological arbitration agreement

(Centro Brasileiro de Mediação e Arbitragem)/ /Leave a comment

This article addresses the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ‘s precedents on the exceptions to the Competence-Competence principle due to pathological arbitration agreements present in contracts of adhesion. In addition, it approaches the Court’s position on the enforcement of a pathological (empty) arbitration clause. The decisions below are landmark precedents and clarify crucial points…

ACICA, Australia, Expert evidence

(King & Wood Mallesons )/ /Leave a comment
ACICA, ACICA 45

Expert evidence is a feature of almost every arbitration. At the very least, parties will likely need to adduce expert evidence concerning the quantification of a claim for damages. However, depending on the subject matter of the dispute, a party may need to adduce expert evidence on any number of topics, ranging from aerodynamics to…

Group of Companies Doctrine, India

, (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.)/ /Leave a comment

The group of companies doctrine in arbitration has always been contentious in India. The doctrine was first recognised by the Indian Supreme Court in Chloro Controls India Private Limited v. Severn Trent Water Purification Inc. (2013) 1 SCC 641 (hereinafter Chloro Controls). Since then, Indian courts have applied the doctrine to bind group companies of…

Canada, International arbitration, VanIAC

(Farris LLP, VanIAC), , (Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, VanIAC), and (Fasken LLP, VanIAC)/ /Leave a comment

Canada’s west coast has long welcomed arbitration as a means of dispute resolution and provided a venue for arbitrations of all kinds. The Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC) – established in 1986 under the name British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC) – has recently made further strides in providing parties with workable and efficient…