Jurisdiction

Confidentiality, Hong Kong

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

Confidentiality is frequently promoted as a key advantage of international arbitration.  It preserves the information exchanged in the arbitration proceedings and prevents the parties from disclosing information relating to the arbitration.  The extent of confidentiality afforded to the parties varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  In certain jurisdictions, the law does not recognise the concept of…

Arbitrability, Arbitration Awards, China, ICDR, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Tax

(Xiamen Intermediate People's Court of People's Republic of China)/ /Leave a comment

On 12 June 2018, the Xiamen Intermediate People’s Court of PRC (“Court”), in Subway International B.V. v Xiamen Woguan Enterprise Management Co., Ltd, upheld an ICDR award made by sole arbitrator Charles J. Moxley Jr., Esq.1)The author would like to thank Judge Chen Yanzhong of Xiamen Maritime Court for his comments on the earlier drafts of…

Canada, European Union, Latin America, Mexico, NAFTA, USMCA

(IÉSEG )/ /Leave a comment

On Friday December 7th, a distinguished panel of government negotiators, experienced investment arbitrators and senior legal advisors gathered in Paris at the law faculty of the University Paris II Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) to discuss the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) also called the “New NAFTA” signed on November 30th. The panel was held as part of…

India, Limitation period, Set aside an arbitral award

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INTRODUCTION It is fairly known that the Indian Limitation Act, 1963 (the Limitation Act) constitutes “general law” for Time Periods and its computation. Section 29(2) of the said Act contains the fundamental rule that provisions of Limitation Act would apply for computation of time period prescribed by any special law only to the extent it…

Arbitrability, Arbitration Agreement, India, kompetenz-kompetenz

, (National Law University, Jodhpur)/ /Leave a comment

Section 16 (1) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [“the Indian Act”] confers power upon the arbitral tribunal to decide on matters relating to its jurisdiction. Under section 16 (5), a decision accepting the plea of lack of jurisdiction shall be an appealable order; while decision rejecting the same plea can be challenged only…

Appeal, Awards, Brazil, Brazilian Arbitration Act, Queen Mary- White & Case Survey

(Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan UK LLP) and , (Andrade & Fichtner Advogados)/ /Leave a comment

Recently, the 2018 White & Case International Arbitration Survey confirmed London, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Geneva, New York and Stockholm as the most in-demand places for arbitration in the world. Brazil is well represented by São Paulo – the economic hub of the country – which occupied eighth place in the overall ranking. This result…

Appeal, Arbitration, BIT, Crimea, India, ISDS, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

In a marked departure from its usual closed-doors policy, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) recently held public deliberations in two separate appeal proceedings concerning foreign investment arbitrations. In both cases, a public deliberation by all five judges of the first civil chamber was necessitated due to the lack of unanimity among the…

Africa, Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitration, ICC, ICC Arbitration, Latin America, São Paulo

(University of Aberdeen )/ /Leave a comment

The endeavours of the ICC go beyond the definition of an arbitration institution; it is indeed one of the most important agents of cultural integration, incubator of diversity and best arbitration practices. 1)Stavros Brekoulakis, The Culture in International Arbitration: Integration or Fragmentation?, CBAr Conference, Salvador Bahia, 18 September 2018 A true manifestation of this is the…

Arbitral seat, Hong Kong, Singapore

(Gary Benton Arbitration)/ /1 Comment

Hong Kong v. Singapore. It’s not the next big football match or title of an upcoming Japanese monster film. It’s the question of where to bring international arbitration claims in Asia. It’s a topic whispered at cocktail receptions and routinely reserved for hushed discussion in law firm conference rooms. It’s the topic rarely if ever…

Annulment, Corruption, Illegality, Paraguay, Public Policy

(FERRERE Abogados)/ /Leave a comment

In a decision from June 6, 2018, the Third Chamber of the Paraguayan Court of Appeal (the “Court”) decided an annulment application, recognizing that issues of illegality and corruption are arbitrable, as long as such decision does not imply the imposition of sanctions, something that is left to the local criminal courts1)Recurso de Nulidad interpuesto…

Arbitration Awards, Argentina, Award Scrutiny, Awards, Previous decisions, State

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP) and (Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi)/ /Leave a comment

Arbitration in Argentina is finally finding its way to certainty. On 4 July of this year, Argentina passed the International Commercial Arbitration Act, based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. Furthermore, Argentinian domestic courts have recently handed down arbitration-friendly decisions. In this regard, a new judgment just been issued by the Argentine Federal Supreme Court of…

Africa, BIT, Tanzania

(University of Miami School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

In 2014, Tanzania was identified as the top destination for foreign direct investment in East Africa by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (“UNCTAD”). Between 2011 and 2013, the country signed five new Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”). With these, it would seem like the country is opening up and attracting foreign investors. However,…

Appointment of arbitrators, India, Judicial intervention

(Law Chambers of Kapur & Trehan)/ /1 Comment

Introduction Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of India, 1996 (the Act), demonstrates in detail the procedure for appointment of arbitrators. It empowers the court to examine the existence of an arbitration agreement while deciding the application for such appointment. The gravity and significance of such proceedings is vast, in both domestic and…

Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Enforcement, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Public Policy, United States

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /Leave a comment

The decision made in the case of Hardy Exploration & Production (India), Inc. v. Government of India, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (Civ. Action No. 16-140 (D.D.C. 7 June 2018)) (“Hardy case”) is yet another decision in a string of outcomes under the New York Convention proving that the repeated adagio “if it ain’t broken,…

2018 In Review, Enforcement, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), New York, New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, SCOTUS, technology industry, U.S. Supreme Court, United States, USMCA

(Law Offices of Kiran N Gore PLLC; The George Washington University Law School)/ /Leave a comment

As we head into the new year, it is worth reflecting on major international arbitration-related developments in the United States during 2018 and their coverage on the blog.   Early in the year, our authors homed in on the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which embodies U.S. arbitration law, including the New York Convention.  As…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Domestic Courts, ICC, ICC Arbitration, ICC Rules, Kuwait, Third party funding, UNCITRAL, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, UNCITRAL Model Law

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On 6 November 2018, the ICC, in collaboration with Al Tamimi & Company, hosted the first Kuwait Arbitration Day. This involved practitioners from across the Middle East and beyond coming together and discussing the latest developments and trends within arbitration. The event attracted over 100 participants who attended despite the day being announced as an…

Arbitration institution, Efficiency, ISDS, ISDS Reform, KCAB, South Korea

(Kim & Chang)/ /Leave a comment

Last month, Seoul was once again brimming with eminent arbitrators and arbitration counsel, and leading alternate dispute resolution practitioners from around the world who had come to attend the Seoul ADR Festival 2018 – a much sought-after yearly event which has grown remarkably in scope and significance since it was first organized in 2015.1)This article…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitrator Challenges, Counsel, Counsel conduct, Disclosure, Dubai, ICC, International arbitration, International Arbitration Procedures, MENA, Middle East, UAE Federal Arbitration Law, UNCITRAL Model Law, United Arab Emirates

(Dentons & Co, Dubai)/ /Leave a comment

Participants at this year’s Dubai Arbitration Week gathered for the ICC conference hosted by Al Tamimi & Co on 14 November 2018. The conference featured a lively roundtable discussion on the subject of “Arbitrator Disclosure – Local Flavour or International Standards?” chaired by Nadia Darwazeh. The panel comprised practitioners from across the MENA region and…

Africa, Arbitration, Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Arbitration institution, Dubai, UAE Federal Arbitration Law, UNCITRAL Model Law, United Arab Emirates

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Since the inaugural programme in 2014, arbitration practitioners from the MENA region and beyond have come together to share and discuss recent developments in the field of international arbitration during the Dubai Arbitration Week, an annual event that takes place in November. Dubai Arbitration Week 2018 was no exception. It was full of seminars, conferences,…

BIT, ICSID, Investment Arbitration, ISDS Reform, Latin America, USMCA

(Concepción Global, PLLC, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)/ /Leave a comment

The CERSA (CNRS-University Paris II Pantheon-Assas) organises a series of seminars on select topics in international investment law and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The purpose of these seminars is to discuss and debate such topics bringing together academics, practitioners and policymakers in a small international group in Paris. The conference about Topical issues in ISDS: Latin…

Arbitration, Brexit, European Union, Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, Judgment

(Swiss International Law School (SiLS))/ /Leave a comment

In our post last month, we discussed the potential impact of Brexit on the choice of law to govern a contract and the law applicable to non-contractual claims. We also discussed that parties and party counsels should consider revisiting their choice of law strategies, but that in doing so, they should be conscious of the…

Asia, Singapore, Third party funding

(Norton Rose Fulbright)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Part I For some time practitioners would have seen news alerts headlining that third-party funding is now permitted in Singapore and Hong Kong for arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings.  Digging a little deeper beyond the shiny new labels, this article highlights three practical “pitfalls’ which practitioners would have to be mindful of when dealing with…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration institution, Courts, SIAC, Singapore

(Schellenberg Wittmer )/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Introduction On 10 October 2018, the Singapore Court of Appeal (“Court of Appeal”) issued its decision on the case of Marty Ltd v Hualon Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd [2018] SGCA 63 (“Marty v Hualon“) which concerned a dispute over the repudiation of an arbitration agreement. While the case contained a number of interesting issues, this…

Belt Road Initiative, China, Hague Choice of Court Convention, ICC, Latin America, Mexico, Peru

(Souto, Correa, Cesa, Lummertz & Amaral Advogados)/ /1 Comment

Introduction In October 1865, Sir Robert Hart, a former British diplomat and by then an official in the Qing Chinese Government, wrote to Empress Dowager Cixi expressing his opinion that China should desperately seek progress through investments in mining, the telegraph, the telephone and especially in railways. The reaction of Empress Cixi’s closest advisors was…