On June 1, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA. The Court held that the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“New York Convention”) does not prohibit a Contracting State from applying the domestic law doctrine…

On 3 February 2020, the Republic of Seychelles became the 162nd Contracting State of the New York Convention (already followed by Palau as number 163, reported here). The New York Convention thus comes into force for the Seychelles today (Article XII(2) New York Convention). The Cabinet and the National Assembly had approved the accession on…

On 31 March 2020, the Republic of Palau (“Palau”) became the 163th state to accede to the United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the “Convention”).1)The authors were engaged by the Asian Development Bank (“ADB”) as part of a team of experts to advise on Palau’s accession to the Convention…

Those applying treaties and interpreting them must remember two salient points: (1) as international adjudicators or as members of the judiciary they must apply a treaty not on the basis of discretionary powers and a judicial hunch but on the basis of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) and (2) lack of…

The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) started the Judgements Project in 1992 which focused on two facets of cross-border litigation: international jurisdiction of courts and recognition and enforcement of their judgements abroad. The project has produced two conventions: The 2005 Choice of Courts Convention and the 2019 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement…

A 2018 decision rendered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al. v. GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp has recently put on the agenda of the U.S. Supreme Court the interpretation of the “in writing” requirement under Article II(2) of the New York Convention…

International arbitration and mediation are often viewed as opponents in an antagonistic battle for the hearts, minds and wallets of disputants. The fear of arbitration losing its status as the most preferred form of alternative dispute resolution is palpable: Mediation’s key disadvantage has long been the difficulty of enforcing mediated settlement agreements. But the United…

I address the regulation and practice of arbitration in Azerbaijan, a topic which has not been discussed widely on an international level. While there is a significant uniformity in international arbitration legislations around the world due to the New York Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (hereinafter the “New York Convention”) and…

Investment arbitrations with respect to Ukrainian assets in Crimea have been in the spotlight of the international arbitration community for some time now1)E.g., see here . After the Claimants in Everest Estate LLC et al. v. the Russian Federation (“Everest”) obtained the merits award in their favour in May 20182)See this post by Mykhaylo Soldatenko., the…

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) is an international financial free zone and an important emerging seat of arbitration in the GCC region. The ADGM’s arbitration law is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, with a number of significant enhancements relating to the confidentiality of proceedings, the joinder of third parties, and the waiver of the…

Introduction The United Arab Emirates (the “UAE”) is a signatory to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958 (the “NYC”), which was adopted into UAE law by Federal Decree No. 43 of 2006. However, there have been instances where the lower courts of the UAE have come…

Consent has long been accepted as the cornerstone of arbitration, until recently. The evolution and expansion of arbitration brought about diverging opinions on the consensual character of arbitration. For example, Stavros Brekoulakis suggested that “[w]hile … a functional concept of consent may enhance the effectiveness of arbitration clauses in complex transactions, it is very difficult…

The Public Policy Exception as an Unruly Horse There is an ongoing quest for a uniform application of the New York Convention. However, the interpretation of the exceptions to enforcement still varies. Albeit applying the same provisions, national courts continue to adopt different approaches to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. This is particularly true…

The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 1958 (New York) celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2018 (“Convention”). Since its inception, 159 Contracting States have joined the Convention. The USSR ratified the Convention on 22 November 1960. The Russian Federation, as a successor of the USSR, continues to be a Contracting State….

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…

On the 60th anniversary of the New York Convention, we can generally conclude that the public policy basis for refusing to enforce an arbitration award has for the most part worked as the drafters intended. The drafters knew that by permitting courts to refuse to enforce foreign arbitral awards based on public policy, they were…

Allegations of fraud and forgery of a sales agreement are for an arbitral tribunal to decide and a party should not ignore a notice of arbitration. This is according to a federal judge who enforced an award against a party that claimed the agreement was forged and did not participate in the arbitral proceedings. On…

The New York Convention’s 60th Anniversary renewed the debate about its future. One must recognize that a treaty that is sixty years old and has been ratified in almost 160 countries can no longer be replaced. Even with compatibility clauses, provisions that would provide for retroactive application and the other tools that the Vienna Convention…