While everyone has been watching with fascination the ups and downs of the Greek crisis, colleagues have been busy in the background trying to unravel some core components of the Greek Bailouts. The PSI deal, which is largely responsible for passing the burden of any potential Greek default from private hands onto public coffers, has…
The Swedish Arbitration Act [“Act”] is currently under review. In 2014, 15 years after the Act first entered into force, a committee was given the task of assessing how well it has worked in practice and how it measures up internationally. According to the committee’s terms of reference, the primary motivation behind the review is…
China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) are the best-known international arbitration institutions in China that deal with the resolution of international commercial disputes. There are, however, other arbitral institutions in China that are also empowered to resolve international commercial disputes, by virtue of the Notice of the…
The engines of economic growth in India are moving towards full throttle. In this resurrection of India as an economic giant, foreign investors are keenly looking at safeguards the Government of India is prepared to offer to ensure that the commercial bases of their investments are protected. The corner stones of investor confidence have always…
For natural persons, possession of the nationality of the host state is an absolute bar to becoming a party to ICSID proceedings against that state. Article 25 of the ICSID Convention delimits the scope of arbitral jurisdiction to investment disputes between a ‘Contracting State’ and a ‘national of another Contracting State’, defined as ‘any natural…
In 1996, when the Brazilian Arbitration Act (“BAA”) came into force, the New York Convention (“NYC”) was still facing considerable resistance from the Brazilian Executive and Legislative branches. At that time, there were few indications that the NYC would be ratified in the near future. This is why the draftsmen of the bill (a bill…
Financial, trade and political sanctions have long been used by states as a tool of foreign policy. This is no less true today, where high profile sanctions regimes have been imposed against Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, North Korea, and Zimbabwe amongst many others. See, for example, the lists of sanctions maintained by the EU (see here),…
In international arbitration, the effect of international sanctions regulations usually arises at two key stages. First, at the commencement of arbitration, where arbitral institutions, arbitrators and counsel involved in the proceedings must consider if they are potentially in breach of such regulations. Secondly, at the enforcement stage, if an award is challenged under the New…
The issue of a unilateral (optional, alternative, hybrid) arbitration clause is highly controversial in commercial arbitration. The approach to these clauses varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In 2012, the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia (a state court), in Russian Telephone Company v. Sony Ericsson, declared a unilateral arbitration clause invalid. The decision attracted attention of…
It is not unusual that a foreign investor is put in a situation where the investment has not been infringed yet and no damage has been caused, but an infringement is very likely to happen. The investor is then often left without any available domestic recourse, which is particularly true as regards general legislative measures….
and Vyapak Desai, Nishith Desai Associates The Delhi High Court, in the case of PCP International Limited (“Petitioner”) v. Lanco Infratech Limited (“Respondent”), OMP (I) No. 350/2015, recently had occasion to decide which Indian court would have territorial jurisdiction in a domestic arbitration. The court, distinguishing the venue of arbitration from the seat, held that…
By a recent judgment in Malini Ventura v Knight Capital Pte Ltd and others [2015] SGHC 225 (“Malini“), the Singapore High Court affirmed its commitment to the primacy of arbitration even in situations where the existence of the arbitration agreement is in question. In Malini, Prakash J decided that prima facie existence of an arbitration…
for YSIAC In an age of ever-increasing complexity, where your watch can open your garage and answer your phone (yes, the Apple watch can really do that), many of us in the international arbitration community have lost sight of the most powerful weapon in the advocate’s toolbox: simplicity. A previous post on this blog eloquently…
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or ICC, the Court or its Secretariat. Hypochondria is defined as an excessive preoccupation with one’s health, usually focusing on some particular symptom. Could excessive preoccupation about the place of arbitration…
and Katherine Bell, Schellenberg Wittmer In decision 4A_554/2014 dated 15 April 2015, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court considered an application to set aside an award on the ground of violation of the right to be heard where the sole arbitrator had based her award on a legal concept that had not been explicitly pleaded by…
The effects of bankruptcy on arbitration remain unclear and they differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Although being oft-discussed in doctrine as well in court and arbitral practice, there is still no uniform answer to the question of which law governs such effects. We saw this question again in the Svea Court of Appeal’s [“Svea Court”]…
Background Article 399A included in the Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China, provides for criminal liability to arbitrators for “perversion of law” (Wangfa Zhongcai Zui). The provision has been a Part of the Criminal Law since 2006. However, on 24 June 2015, the Supreme People’s Court (‘SPC’) and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) of…
Longlide, Shenhua Coal and the issue ahead In a case regarded by many as a “milestone” for arbitration in China, Longlide Packing and Printing Co. Ltd. v. BP Agnati S.r.l (hereinafter “Longlide”) (Reply of the Supreme People’s Court to the Request for Instructions on Application for Confirming the Validity of an Arbitration Agreement in the…
A recent ruling of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance (see Case No. XX – (1) X1 (2) X2 v. (1) Y1 (2) Y2, ruling of the DIFC Court of First Instance of 29 July 2015) brings into relief the question as to whether the role of the DIFC Courts as…
In recent years, Russia has become a frequent respondent in investment treaty matters. This is a new development. There are currently at least ten treaty claims pending against Russia, with a number of other disputes threatened. At the same time, Russia is trying to protect its assets against a large-scale enforcement campaign in Europe and…
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s law firm. There are a number of questions that influence how arbitration treats cases in which an award is challenged successfully. A court overturns an award declining jurisdiction,…
By Order of 11 May 2015 (unpublished) in Case No. ARB 005/2014 – A v. B, Justice Sir David Steel of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance dismissed an application made by an award debtor to set aside an order granted by the DIFC Court on 8 January 2015 (unpublished) for…
This article discusses the successful challenge of a unanimous arbitral award on the grounds that the arbitral tribunal was improperly constituted due to the bias of one of the three arbitrators. The challenge was successful before the Higher Regional Court of Munich (Decision of Feb. 2nd 2014, Case 34 Sch 7/13). The German Supreme Court,…
Dear Readers, you may have noticed the dearth of recent posts, for which we make no excuses. It is late summer for the northern hemisphere contributors. At this point, most of us are lingering poolside at the Kluwer International Arbitration Resort and Amusement Park, sipping procedural cocktails in the waning light as the children take…
