In its civil ruling (2018) Yue 03 Min Te No 719 on 26 April 2020, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court (the “Court”) set aside an award made by a local arbitral institution in Shenzhen (the “Award”), a special economic zone and the bridgehead of the China’s reform and opening-up. This judgment was approved by the…
On 3 March 2021, the German Arbitration Institute (DIS) held an online event for the discussion of a proposal for the introduction of third-party notice in the DIS arbitration rules. The proposal comes at a point in time when hundreds of mooties are preparing for this year’s edition of the Willem C. Vis Moot which…
On 20 February 2021, the King’s Forum on IDR and Triumvir Law organised a virtual fireside chat with Mr. Salman Khurshid (former Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Dr. Aniruddha Rajput (India’s Member of the International Law Commission). The fireside chat was part of the webinar series on ‘Investment Arbitration in India’. During the conversation,…
In February 2021, Facebook made the unprecedented decision to ban Australian news-related content posted by Australian users. Facebook’s move was reportedly in retaliation to the Federal Government’s introduction of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code (Code). Under the Code, operators of “designated digital platform services” in Australia will be required to negotiate…
Since 2016, the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been implementing significant political, legislative, judicial, economic, and social reforms with the aim of developing the country, enhancing its investment climate, and improving the lives of its citizens at a much more rapid pace than before.1)The authors were the lead international arbitration experts and resources…
Among its over 50 decisions on appeals against arbitral awards rendered in 2020, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) in two decisions yet again addressed a delicate issue on the interaction of human rights and arbitration: can private parties challenge arbitral awards on the basis that the arbitral tribunal violated their human rights under…
As the transition period following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU approached, there was much speculation about what a “no deal” Brexit might entail. Optimistically, some drew inspiration from Singapore to suggest a possible future for the City of London as an “offshore” European financial services hub. While the exclusion of financial services from…
Following a highly-publicized diplomatic battle among the EU Member States (MS), the EU revealed in mid-February its proposal to amend the ECT’s definition of the “Economic Activity in the Energy Sector” (EAES). The announcement allayed fears of the intra-EU discussions on the matter falling apart. Insofar as it sets forth a vision for amendments that…
The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt (OLG Frankfurt) delivered a decision on 16 January 2020 (Judgment) that has sparked interesting reactions to an already open debate in Germany on dissenting opinions (see previously on this Blog, here and here). But this decision also allows for a comparison of how German and Italian arbitration law, both…
Professor Masato Dogauchi is a Chief Arbitration and Mediation Officer of the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”), Professor of Law at Waseda University Law School, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. He has authored numerous publications in the areas of arbitration, international civil procedure, and private international law. He has sat as arbitrator,…
The concept of ‘waiver’ is a nebulous creature, crossing into the realms of estoppel, repudiation and variation. For the purposes of ss 7(2) and 7(5) of Australia’s International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth), Australian jurisprudence has distinguished between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ waiver, as summarised in ACD Tridon v Tridon Australia [2002] NSWSC 896 (‘ACD Tridon’). ‘Strong’ waiver…
Cases involving African parties contribute to a significant number of International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) cases. Indeed, 15% of ICSID cases involve parties from sub-Saharan Africa and 18% of ICSID cases involve parties from Middle East and North Africa. The UNCTAD database of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases records 145…
Latvia is an infamous unicorn in the field of arbitration because of its record-number of institutional arbitration courts. In November 2013, there were 214 arbitration courts in Latvia. Regretfully, this is not because we as a nation love arbitration that much. Liberal regulations have allowed any legal entity to establish an arbitration court which to…
On 23 February 2021, the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI) and HK45 co-hosted the third installment of the webinar series The Rising Arbitrator’s Challenge: Navigating the Promise and Perils of Your First Appointments. As the webinar series aims to shed light on different jurisdictions, the third installment focused on Asia. The overarching topic addressed the thorny…
Each of the major arbitral institutions requires that parties furnish some form of advance on costs before an arbitration can proceed. The advance on costs is a deposit paid by the parties to cover fees and expenses of the tribunal and the institution’s administrative expenses (“Advance”). Whilst payment of an Advance is often perceived as…
The recent crisis between the Brazilian president Jair Messias Bolsonaro and the Brazilian national oil company Petrobras may result in a wave of investors’ claims submitted to arbitration against the Brazilian Federal Government for abuse of controlling power and breach of fiduciary duties under the Brazilian Companies Act 1976. During a live broadcast on February…
Investor-state international arbitration may provide a way forward for Survivors and their heirs after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision denying claims in two restitution cases regarding Holocaust-era stolen property: Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp (for return of Medieval art stolen by the Nazis) along with the companion case of Republic of Hungary v. Simon…
When starting as the secretary general of the Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI) almost two years ago I wanted to properly understand what it is that we do and how we can reach our full potential in it. I had been a part of the arbitration community, arbitrating, teaching and doing research for long enough to…
For more than a decade, it was evident that anti-suit injunctions are not permitted in the European Union. Recently, however, there have been developments that could signal the beginning of a new dawn. In late 2019, the Higher Regional Court Munich confirmed the first anti-anti-suit injunction in German history. The court prohibited Continental from further…
There is still a common misconception among foreign arbitration practitioners that in post-soviet countries the courts often tend to refuse recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards based on public policy. Is this characterisation fair with respect to Ukraine? There have been five recent cases in Ukraine on violation of public policy, with some landmark decisions…
On 23 October 2020, Japan and the United Kingdom (UK) signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the agreement coming into force on 1 January 2021. This signifies a historic landmark as the UK’s first trade deal as an independent nation, and represents a key milestone for international trade in a post-Brexit UK. The…
Five years ago, the Brazilian Arbitration Act (Law No. 9,307/96 or BAA) was amended by the Law No. 13,129/2015. Law No. 13,129/2015 repealed the item V of Article 32 of the BAA which provided for the annulment of an arbitral award when it does not address the entire dispute submitted to arbitration (infra petita award)….
The “2019 in Review: India” started with a quote from Jeff Bezos that the 21st century belongs to India. Little did we know then that, one year later, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon would be fighting tooth and nail in a SIAC arbitration and related litigation in the Indian courts to claim a share of the burgeoning…
Egypt has been trying to control the number of investor-state arbitration disputes which has been steeply increasing since 2011 and the Arab Spring movement (see past discussion on the Blog here). To that end, Egypt created alternative out-of-court forums for amicable settlement of existing arbitration cases and worked toward curbing the eruption of new cases…
