The Guatemalan Constitutional Court (“Court”) recently ruled that a dispute can be too complex for an arbitral tribunal to decide for the umpteenth time. For context, the Court has jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of Guatemalan laws upon the request of an interested party. In a recent decision, the Court was tasked with deciding…
On December 20, 2022, Chile’s Supreme Court issued a ruling that has been praised by the arbitral community for its pro-arbitration stance in the face of an apparently pathological arbitration clause. In its decision, the highest court of Chile lent decisive support to key international arbitration principles, such as party autonomy, domestic minimum intervention and…
On 28 May 2021, for the first time in blockchain arbitration history, Mexican courts enforced an arbitral award relying on a blockchain arbitration protocol (“Blockchain Arbitral Award”), as explored in the report found here (“Carrera Report”) (see the Appendix for the Blockchain Arbitral Award, which is in Spanish). This decision is of great significance for…
On 12 October 2021, the Africa Arbitration Academy organized its annual debate themed “Battle of the Titans” as part of its 2021 Flagship Training Programme. The debate was moderated by Dr. Emilia Onyema, Professor of International Commercial Law, SOAS University of London and featured two pre-eminent arbitration practitioners – Prof. Gary Born and Prof. Jan…
It is well-known that confidentiality is a particularly important mechanism for protecting the information and data contained in a process in which disclosure could cause prejudice to the parties. That is because the mere existence of a lawsuit may sometimes lead to considerable consequences for the parties, as it may affect the perception of third…
In a landmark ruling in PASL Wind Solutions Private Limited v. GE Power Conversion,1)Special Leave Petition (Civil) 3936 of 2021 (arising out of GHC judgment dated November 11, 2020), Supreme Court of India Judgment dated April 20, 2021. India’s Supreme Court rejected the argument that the designation of a foreign seat between two Indian parties…
The Chilean Supreme Court recently issued a decision that, on its face, respects party autonomy in international arbitration. But, it could do more harm than good. On September 14, 2020, the Chilean Supreme Court (the “Court”) entered a final judgement in the case CCF SUDAMERICA SPA, Rol Nº 19568-2020 (“CCF Sudamericana” or the “Decision”). The…
The relationship between arbitration and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG” or “Convention”) is not a clear one, and the question of when an arbitrator is bound to apply the CISG is still not answered with clarity either by scholars or by practitioners. At a recent conference organized…
On 22 March 2019, the Dutch Government released the text of the new model Netherlands BIT. Its idealism has been applauded: the new model prioritizes gender and regional diversity as well as the United Nations sustainability goals. Yet, what would the effect be of some of the model’s provisions on Foreign Direct Investment (‘FDI’)? For…
The Guide on the Law Applicable to International Commercial Contracts in the Americas (the “Guide”) was recently approved by Resolution 249 of 2019 of the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI) of the Organization of American States (OAS). The instrument particularly takes into account the OAS Mexico Convention of 1994 “on the law applicable to international contracts”…
Introduction The lex arbitri of Switzerland is well-known for affording parties maximum autonomy and procedural flexibility. In line with these principles, parties to international arbitration proceedings have the possibility to opt out of the otherwise applicable Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (“PILA”) and to opt into the statutory rules governing Swiss-seated…
Introduction Party autonomy is the underlining principle of arbitration. The courts ought to have it in mind whenever they are called upon to intervene in matters related to arbitration. The right of parties to resolve their dispute by arbitration must be upheld and given effect to. When the judiciary acts to give effect to this…
The ICC Rules introduced expedited procedure with effect from March 01, 2017. With this, the ICC joined the league of other leading arbitration institutions such as SIAC, LCIA and HKIAC who had already incorporated expedited procedure. Courts across the globe have delivered uniform decisions, views in interpreting party autonomy except for a decision by the…
The Cambridge Arbitration Day (CAD), an annual arbitration conference organised by the Cambridge University Graduate Law Society, took place on the 3rd of March 2018, in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The event was preceded by the Young Practitioners’ Event organised with ICC Young Arbitrators Forum on the 2nd of March 2018, which brought together students and…
Over the past few decades, responding to the need to control the growing costs and time of arbitration proceedings, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC Court”) has continuously sought to achieve greater efficiency of the ICC arbitration proceedings (examples of such efforts can be found on the links available…
