Jurisdiction

Arbitration, Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Hungary, International arbitration, UNCITRAL, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Addleshaw Goddard LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Jeantet

On 17 May 2018, the Central European University and Jeantet co-organized a conference to discuss the new Hungarian Arbitration Act (the “New Act”), following the first months of its entry into force on 1 January 2018 (the “Conference”). The Conference was held in Budapest and the organizing committee was composed of Csongor Nagy (CEU, University…

Arab World, Arbitral Tribunal, United Arab Emirates

(Paxus LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On May 3rd, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 (‘Law’) – the nation’s first federal arbitration legislation. According to the Federal National Council, this law has been formulated with the objective of maintaining and encouraging inflow of investments, and to comply with the UAE Vision 2021….

Achmea, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, BIT, CJEU, European Commission, European Law, European Union, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration

(HHP Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

The first half of the year has been a rollercoaster when it comes to BITs and ISDS, in particular in Europe. Several developments at various levels can be distinguished with one common denominator: for better or for worse, the European Union (EU) and EU law have become one of the key drivers in shaping international…

Arbitration, China, Courts

(Zhong Lun Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

On 29 June 2018, the Supreme People’s Court of China (the “SPC”) launched its First International Commercial Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and Second International Commercial Court in Xi’an, Shaanxi (the “Courts”). Correspondingly, the Regulations of the Supreme People’s Court on Certain Issues Concerning the Establishment of International Commercial Courts (the “Regulation”) has just taken effect…

Appellate Body, Arbitration, European Union, Trade, United States, WTO

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Linklaters

In light of the tariffs on steel imposed by the United States of America (“USA”), the Europe Union (“EU”) has threatened to impose tariffs of its own on American goods. Additionally, the EU has also filed a claim against USA at the World Trade Organisation (“WTO”). However, as discussed below, it may be that this…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, Labour Law, United States

(Covington & Burling LLP)/ /Leave a comment
ArbitralWomen

On May 21st, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (“Epic Systems”) held in a 5-4 majority that one-on-one mandatory arbitration agreements imposed by employers upon their employees must be enforced as written in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). The majority opinion, written by Justice Neil…

Arbitration, Belt Road Initiative, HKIAC, Hong Kong

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Linklaters

On 26 April 2018, HKIAC announced its new “Belt and Road Programme” which consists of an industry-focussed Belt and Road Advisory Committee and an online resource platform dedicated to Belt and Road disputes. This is a welcome development in light of the ICC Court’s formation of their own Belt and Road Commission in March (see…

Arbitration, Belgium, International Business Court

(Linklaters)/ /1 Comment

Background In October 2017, in the wake of Brexit, Belgium was one of the first European jurisdictions to announce its intention to set up a specialised English-speaking court with jurisdiction over international commercial disputes, the Brussels International Business Court (“BIBC”). The stated aim of this new court is to position Brussels as a new hub…

Achmea, BIT, ECJ, Europe, European Law, European Union, Intra-EU BITs, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Uncategorized

(Vavrovsky Heine Marth)/ /2 Comments

Over the past two months, the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Slovak Republic v Achmea BV, hereinafter referred to as “Achmea”, has created much discussion among arbitration practitioners. Its reasoning and implications have already been addressed in several Kluwer Arbitration blog posts, available here, here and here. The…

Arbitration, Lebanon, public-private partnership

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Young ICCA

On 9 September 2017, Lebanon passed Law No. 48 “Regulating Public Private Partnerships” (“PPP Law”) ahead of the CEDRE Conference (acronym in French for “Economic Conference for Development, through Reforms and with the Businesses”) held in Paris on 6 April 2018. This conference brought USD 11 billion of funding for Lebanon’s infrastructure which is in…

Arbitration, Conference, Finland

(The Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce (FAI))/ /Leave a comment
Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI)

Helsinki International Arbitration Day (HIAD) is an arbitration conference organised by the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce (FAI). Since its inception in 2012, HIAD is held every year in the city of Helsinki bringing together legal practitioners from Finland and abroad to hear from top experts about the latest developments in international…

Enforcement, India, Set aside an arbitral award

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The Indian Parliament passed the Indian Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (“Amendment Act”) in a bid to refresh and reform the existing arbitration regime under the existing Arbitration Act. Ironically, the Amendment Act spiralled new waves of persistent ambiguity and uncertainty regarding the applicability of these amendments to pending as well as fresh proceedings…

Africa, Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Investment Treaties, Investor-State arbitration

(Afe Babalola & Co.)/ /1 Comment

International arbitration claims are oftentimes bedevilled with the contention that the claimant invoked the option to arbitrate much too early. Sometimes, this contention is no more than a lawyers’ artifice utilised to delay advancing arbitral proceedings. Yet, quite commonly, this contention is true in some cases. In my experience, I have identified a number of…

Achmea, ECJ, Enforcement, Jurisdiction, New York Convention, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, TFEU, Treaty, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(Colibra Insurance)/ /Leave a comment

Considering what the Court of Justice of the European Union (“ECJ”) said in its Judgment of 6 March 2018, under Case C‑284/16, widely known as the “Achmea judgment” (“Achmea”), one begs the question: How this should be perceived in practice?  Because, when interpreting EU law not to be compatible with BIT-based dispute resolution, or vice…

Arbitral Award, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Serbia, Set aside an arbitral award, Suspension of Enforcement

(University of Novi Sad)/ /Leave a comment

Enforcement for some may be a chimera, an overrated factor in choosing the dispute resolution methods.1)Cameron Ford, The Enforcement Chimera, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, May 10. 2018. Yet, efforts that have been invested in enforcement of judgments within the Hague Conference on Private International Law2)See the Draft Judgments Convention and of international commercial settlement agreements reached…

Africa, Nigeria, Third party funding

(The University of Adelaide)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction   It is no longer news that Third-Party-Funding (TPF) has captured the attention of the arbitration community in recent times and has become increasingly popular even in international commercial and investment arbitration. No doubt, the recent expansion of TPF in international commercial and investment arbitration has spurred debates with regard to its regulation, both…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration clause, kompetenz-kompetenz, Venezuela

(ADM & Asociados )/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

This post focuses on two decisions issued by the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice in the Corporación LSR case. The decisions constitute an unexpected change in the approach of the Supreme Court towards arbitration, deviating from its latest and vastly commented case law regarding commercial arbitration matters. Background The dispute in Corporación LSR arose out…

Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Costs, Nigeria

(Queen's University Faculty of Law) and (Africa Arbitration Academy )/ /2 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The past few months have witnessed several momentous developments for international arbitration in Africa. Angola, Cabo Verde, and Sudan acceded to the New York Convention; South Africa adopted a new International Arbitration Act; the OHADA Council of Ministers adopted three new texts on arbitration and mediation; and the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Repeal and…

Asia-Pacific, Japan, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Treaty

(Waseda University)/ /2 Comments

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed by 11 of the original TPP Partners on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile. After the United States announced its withdrawal from the original TPP on 23 January 2017,1) The announcement made it clear that the United States was not ‘obliged to refrain from…

Cyprus, occupation, Oil & Gas, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine

(Bottega Di Bella)/ /Leave a comment

This post navigates the possibility of expanding the protection of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to foreign investments made in the territory of a country, which is partially occupied by the State that is a Contracting Party to that BIT. By taking into account a real-life situation – which may result into an investment arbitration…

Court of Arbitration for Sport, Independence, Sport arbitration, Switzerland

(Archipel) and / /Leave a comment

In a recent case, the Swiss Federal Tribunal (“SFT”) has once again been called to consider the question of independence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) vis-à-vis its funders and users. This note introduces the issue of funding and independence of CAS in the context of the SFT’s prior case law and discusses…

Arbitration, Summary Judgment, Summary procedure, United States

(Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP)/ /1 Comment
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

The recent American case of Weirton Medical Center Inc v Community Health Systems Inc (N.D. W. Va. Dec. 12, 2017) is another reminder that the debate over the place of summary disposal in arbitration has not been settled. This issue has previously been in the spotlight notably through the transatlantic case of Travis Coal Restructured…

Ethics, Hong Kong, Singapore, Third party funding

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Hot on the heels of Singapore’s liberalising third party funding (TPF) for arbitration, Hong Kong followed with similar legislation. Keen to ensure the new regime works, the Singapore Ministry of Law is already seeking feedback on whether cases are being funded, businesses are benefiting from the liberalisation, and whether to expand third party funding.1) Singapore…

Achmea, Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, BIT, Enforcement, European Law, European Union, International arbitration, Intra-EU BITs, Investment Arbitration, New York Convention

(Albright StoneBridge Group)/ /Leave a comment

The world after the  Achmea v Slovakia decision focuses on the question about the future of ISDS in relation to intra-EU BITs. At the ASIL conference on the 6 April 2018, a representative of the EU observed the decision in the Achmea case as one that was perhaps a natural consequence of the intricacies of…