Among its over 50 decisions on appeals against arbitral awards rendered in 2020, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) in two decisions yet again addressed a delicate issue on the interaction of human rights and arbitration: can private parties challenge arbitral awards on the basis that the arbitral tribunal violated their human rights under…

On 6 July 2020 the Swiss Federal Tribunal has issued a decision in which it has held that the COVID-19 pandemic does not serve as a sufficient justification to impose virtual hearings in state court proceedings against a party’s will. With a view to field of arbitration, the question thus arises whether the respective reasoning…

The draft bill for the revision of the 12th Chapter of the Swiss Private International Law (“PILA”) was recently approved by the Swiss legislator (as analyzed previously on this blog). Besides permitting the filing of set-aside motions in the English language, the provisions regulating the court assistance have also been revised and adjusted with the…

The revision process of Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (PILA), governing international arbitration in Switzerland, was initiated in 2008 through a parliamentary motion. It led to a general mandate for the Swiss government to “touch up” Swiss international arbitration law with a view to aligning the statutory text with Swiss case…

One of the spillovers from arbitration’s popularity for the resolution of commercial disputes has been a steady increase in the use of arbitration provisions in corporate governance documents such as articles of association (“AoA”) or bylaws. Global public companies such as Royal Dutch Shell plc, Kone Oyj or Petrobras SA are prominent examples of this…

Arbitral awards can be annulled on exhaustive grounds prescribed in the lex arbitri. Under UNCITRAL Model Law Art. 34/2/a/iii an award can be challenged, if arbitrators award differently than the submissions of the parties (ultra or extra petita). In a recent judgment, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (hereafter “SFSC”) partially annulled an ICC-award on extra petita (4A_294/2019), as the…

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…