Jurisdiction

Arbitration Act, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Brazil, Domestic Courts, Latin America, New York Convention, Pro arbitration, Review on the merits

(Pinheiro Neto Advogados)/ /Leave a comment

Ana Carolina Beneti Ricardo Dalmaso Marques (a) Introduction 1. The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) was called, in September 2010, to decide on a compelling matter: the possibility (or not) of recognizing and enforcing a foreign award rendered devoid of grounds and whether this decision would violate public policy if it produced effects in…

Appeal, Arbitration, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, International arbitration, Latin America, Section 1782 Discovery, South America

(Astigarraga Davis)/ /Leave a comment

On June 25th, 2012 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which covers all federal appeals emanating from the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, decided that a private commercial arbitration tribunal in Ecuador used by the parties to resolve a commercial dispute is a ‘tribunal’ for purposes of the collection of…

Asia-Pacific, Confidentiality, Public Policy

(Norton Rose Fulbright)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Confidentiality is often a distinguishing reason why users choose arbitration over court litigation. In a 2010 International Arbitration Survey on Choices in International Arbitration, 62% of respondents said confidentiality was very important to them. Last month, a contributor to this blog observed anecdotally that in-house counsel want confidentiality especially in industries in which a dispute…

Enforcement, France, New York Convention, Russia, Seat of the arbitration, Set aside an international arbitral award

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /7 Comments
Herbert Smith Freehills

One of the oft quoted advantages of arbitration is the perceived certainty that the national courts of New York Convention states should enforce an arbitral award unless one of the limited grounds for refusal is met. However, the relationship between national courts and arbitration is far from straightforward. In particular, one notable area where there…

ASEAN, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Investment Arbitration, NAFTA, Trade

(University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The Obama Administration’s only current regional trade negotiations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), continue slowly toward a possible conclusion in 2013, with 12 rounds of negotiations having been completed as of the end of May 2012. A major element of a re-energized American focus on political, security and economic considerations in Asia, the TPP if it…

Enforcement, Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), Jurisdiction, New York Convention, North America

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The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently issued a decision that has some interesting implications for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the U.S. against foreign state agencies or state-owned companies. American readers, get ready for a review of Civil Procedure 101 on personal jurisdiction! The United States…

ASEAN, BIT, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, NAFTA, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(University of Notre Dame)/ /3 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

Investment treaty provisions that allow joint decisions by States Parties to override or control arbitral tribunals’ interpretations of investment treaty standards scarcely appear in international investment agreements. The recently released 2012 United States Model BIT is a rare example. The 2012 version carried over Article 30(3) of the 2004 United States Model BIT, enabling States…

Canada, Investment Arbitration

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /1 Comment

The shoe has finally dropped. Ever since the Invictus Memo was released to the public we knew that the Ecuadorian Plaintiffs were considering twenty-seven different countries to enforce the $18.2 Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron. With Chevron’s far-flung assets, it was plausible that the Plaintiffs would choose to enforce the judgment in countries with close ties…

Africa, BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration

(Mishcon de Reya)/ /1 Comment

On 18 April 2012, South Sudan signed and ratified the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ‘ICSID Convention’). In accordance with Article 68(2) thereof, the Convention entered into force for Sudan thirty days later, i.e. on 18 May 2012. The membership of Africa’s newest republic…

Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Latin America

(Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C.)/ /4 Comments

For almost 20 years, Mexico has been at the forefront of Latin-American arbitration practice. It has been widely recognized both in terms of the quality and sophistication of its practitioners, its modern legal framework (since 1993 based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration) and for its arbitration friendly judiciary. According to statistics…

Arbitration Agreements, Middle East

(Mechantaf Law)/ /Leave a comment

On 6 March 2012, Justice Sir David Steel of the Court of First Instance of the Dubai International Financial Centre – DIFC – rendered a decision refusing to grant a stay of the proceedings, and ignoring an option in the underlying contract to opt out of the Court’s jurisdiction by referring to LCIA arbitration. In…

Arbitration clause, Damages, Europe, Jurisdiction

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This post follows on from the highly informative Kluwer Arbitration Blog post by Elizabeth Kantor, “The ‘West Tankers’ Saga Continues: Can Damages Compensate for Breach of an Arbitration Clause?” Whilst that focussed principally on the implications for, and efficacy of, the type of award in issue the purpose this post is, in contrast, to look…

Arbitration clause, Damages, Europe, Jurisdiction

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

In the most recent of a long-running series of decisions in the West Tankers saga, the English court has found that the majority of the tribunal was wrong to decline jurisdiction to award equitable damages or to declare a party liable to indemnify the other as a result of the breach of an arbitration clause….

Asia-Pacific, Commercial Arbitration

(Peter & Kim)/ /1 Comment
Bae, Kim & Lee LLC

In recent years, Korea has become an object of some attention in the international arbitration field. But less than 15 years ago, there was no “arbitration field” in Korea to speak of. I, myself, was a maritime lawyer and it was only a twist of fate – the request of a client – that put…

Annulment, International arbitration, Public Policy, Sport arbitration, Supreme Court, Switzerland

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

With its decision of 27 March 2012, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court held unlawful a disciplinary sanction by which FIFA threatened the football player Matuzalem with a lifetime ban in case he failed to pay a damage claim of his former club and employer. By an earlier decision of the CAS, Francelino da Silva Matuzalem,…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Middle East

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /1 Comment

Last week I had the good fortune to attend a reception in Washington D.C. with various arbitration luminaries announcing the inauguration of the Jerusalem Arbitration Center. With almost $5 billion in annual trade between Palestine and Israel, it is imperative to establish a neutral forum for resolving business disputes. JAC is established under the auspices…

Arbitration Agreements, Canada, Jurisdiction

(Caribbean Arbitrators, Arbitration Place, 33 Bedford Row Chambers)/ /1 Comment

Canada’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada, recently considered whether a party had waived its right to rely on arbitration and forum selection clauses by submitting a statement of defence on the merits in an Ontario court litigation in which it also pleaded the clauses. The Court ruled that there had been no waiver….

Enforcement, Switzerland

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE)/ /Leave a comment

By Matthias Scherer and Simone Nadelhofer, LALIVE, Geneva and Zurich The Swiss Federal Supreme Court recently published a decision rendered last addressing the enforceability of an English Worldwide Freezing Order (“WFO”) in Switzerland. Of particular interest was the question whether a party can apply for a mere declaration of enforceability without actually seeking to enforce…

Annulment, Russia, Set aside an arbitral award

(Khrenov & Partners)/ /1 Comment

When the Arbitrazh Court of Kemerovo Region in Siberia granted leave to recognize an annulled ICC award in 2011 for the first time, international and domestic commentators rushed to acclaim the new arbitration-friendly attitude of the Russian courts, thus placing Russia ‘into line with a select number of jurisdictions’ (e.g. France and the Netherlands). Some…

Arbitration Act, Europe

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The new Portuguese arbitration law that shall enter into force on 14 March 2012 represents a remarkable evolution in the arbitration framework in Portugal. The former Portuguese arbitration law was published in 1986 (not following the UNCITRAL Model Law) and despite being considered a progressive law at the time it was clear that it lacked…

Dispute Resolution, Russia

(Schellenberg Wittmer)/ /Leave a comment
Schellenberg Wittmer

Overview of the conference held on February 23 – 24 in London A conference on international dispute resolution involving Russian and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States; association of former Soviet Republics) companies took place in London last week. The conference was well attended, mainly by major law firms in London and Russia, by Cypriot lawyers…

Asia-Pacific

(Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /1 Comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

The HKIAC has launched a consultation process to consider modifications to its Administered Arbitration Rules, which came into force on 1 September 2008 (the “Rules”). Users of the Rules have been invited to comment on proposed amendments outlined in a HKIAC consultation paper dated 15 December 2011. A copy of the consultation paper can be…

Arbitration, Competition Law, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Jurisdiction, Public Policy

(Baker & McKenzie)/ /1 Comment
YIAG

A commentary on the OECD Competition Commission conclusions on using arbitration to effectively resolve competition law disputes By Francesca Richmond and Sarah West There has been increasing use of arbitration to resolve disputes involving competition law issues in recent years. However, it is surprising that the number is not even greater given that arbitral processes…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration clause, Commercial Arbitration, Dispute resolution clause, International arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Partial award, Set aside an international arbitral award, Switzerland

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE)/ /Leave a comment

By Matthias Scherer and Sam Moss In a recent decision issued on 7 November 2011 on a request for annulment of a partial award on jurisdiction rendered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“TAS”), the Swiss Supreme Court recalled and applied its previous jurisprudence on the interpretation of pathological arbitration clauses (Case 4A_246/2011). The…