On 29 November 2023, speakers from various jurisdictions met at a conference at Heuking in Düsseldorf, organised by the European Chinese Arbitrators Association (ECAA) and the Asian European Arbitration Centre (ASEAC), to discuss whether we are currently experiencing “A New Dawn of Arbitration in Asia”. Professor Sundra Rajoo, Director of the Asian International Arbitration Centre,…

Introduction East and Central Asia sees further efforts to promote arbitration through legislative and regulatory developments. Domestic courts clarified issues fundamental to arbitration and the judicial enforcement of arbitral awards. Domestic legislative and judicial bodies and arbitral institutions continue to grapple with recent trends and come up with innovative solutions that reflect the unique experience…

On the third day of Hong Kong Arbitration Week 2023, the ADR in Asia Conference, the flagship event of the Hong Kong Arbitration Week, hosted a panel discussion on the Hong Kong Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration (“ORFSA”) regime. The panel followed on from last year’s panel introducing ORFSA and explored updates to the…

Third-Party Funding (“TPF”) has emerged as a parallel industrial complex in the modern dispute resolution landscape. Parties routinely enter into Arbitration/ Litigation Funding Agreements (“LFA”) with third parties, based on both conditional fees and damages-based remuneration models, seeking financial services in relation to advocacy, litigation, or claims management. The increasing popularity of the industry can…

The Delhi High Court has resoundingly acknowledged the viability of third-party funding (“TPF”) in providing access to justice for claimants in arbitrations. In a welcome judgment, the Court ruled that a funder was not liable for an arbitral award and therefore need not furnish security in the enforcement thereof. The Court said the funder could…

Recently, a ripple has created a current through the usually calm waters of the litigation funding world: Reports in the media of disputes between funders, clients and lawyers. Over the past months, cases have featured prominently in the public eye, including for example the dispute between Burford and Sysco. At the heart of these disputes…

In recent decades, third-party funding in arbitration and litigation has grown exponentially in many jurisdictions and has become a matter of continuing debate in academia and practice. (See, for example, here and here for previous blog posts.) Currently, People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”) legislation does not prohibit third-party funding, but it fails to…

International arbitration proceedings typically involve fact-sensitive and technically complex transnational disputes, and usually require large legal teams, multiple expert and fact witnesses, making the costs skyrocket. In this scenario, a party lacking the necessary funds might decide not to pursue a legitimate claim. This limited access to arbitral justice is concerning from a policy standpoint,…

It was St Martin’s Eve on 10 November 2022, a day also known in Sweden as “Martin’s goose” (Sw. Mårtensgås). As the Swedish name suggests, the St Martin’s Eve custom involves a three-course goose dinner in which all parts of the goose are used and finished with apple cake. It is particularly popular in Scania…

International arbitration is reputed for its flexibility shaped by the underlying principle of party autonomy. Past years have witnessed the development of various types of funding arrangements for arbitration users, including third-party funding (“TPF”) and, most recently, alternative fee arrangements with counsel (“AFAs”) in Singapore and Hong Kong. While these new initiatives undoubtedly increase flexibility…

Third-party funding is not directly addressed in Serbian legislation. Consequently, there is widespread debate as to whether third-party funding is allowed under Serbian law. This post analyses whether third-party funding of arbitration costs and associated legal fees is admissible in Serbia. It further addresses the conditions that have to be met in order for such…

On March 21, 2022, the Member States of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) approved a comprehensive reform of its rules and regulations, including the rules of procedure for ICSID arbitration proceedings (“New ICSID Rules”). Drafted over a five-year consultation process and six working papers, this profound amendment aims to “modernize, simplify,…

The increasing cost of resolving disputes has become very concerning. While this phenomenon is not altogether new, the rising trend in recent times has given rise to a situation in which impecunious claimholders may be deprived of access to justice. Indeed, even companies with deep pockets now seek innovative ways of managing the costs of…

A recent VICE Motherboard article highlights an intriguing innovation at the intersection of crypto tech and litigation finance. The topic has caused quite a stir, including a thought-provoking discussion on ArbTech, an online forum on technology and dispute resolution. This post reports on this innovation, and expands upon the ArbTech discussion. The innovation concerns Ryval,…

In early 2021, we wrote a post on this blog welcoming the inclusion of specific provisions on third-party funding (TPF) in the 2021 ICC Arbitration Rules. Recent regulatory developments in TPF in investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS), including publication of the VIAC Rules of Investment Arbitration and Mediation (VIAC Investment Arbitration Rules), have enticed us to…

On January 20, 2022, ICSID submitted its amended rules to the Administrative Council for a vote, marking the end of the five-year-old process of modernizing the ICSID Rules. ICSID members are expected to cast a vote on the amended rules by March 21, 2022, and if approved, the rules will enter into force on July…

The recent English Commercial Court decision in Tenke Fungurume Mining SA v Katanga Contracting Services SAS [2021] EWHC 3301 (Comm) has provided an interesting further comment on the broad discretion available to tribunals in English-seated arbitrations to award the costs of third party funding as part of costs awards. The decision by Mrs Justice Moulder…

Sarah has been HKIAC Secretary-General since September 2016. During her time at the helm, the HKIAC has, among other actions, released its 2018 Administered Arbitration Rules, overseen the changes arising from the 2019 arrangement between Mainland China and Hong Kong regarding interim measures for arbitration (“Interim Measures Arrangement”), became the first foreign arbitral institution to…

As part of Canadian Arbitration Week, the 2021 ICC Canada Conference, titled Leaning into the Future, was designed to facilitate critical thinking and debate on several important topics in international arbitration. The focus of the conference was decidedly post-pandemic, exploring fault lines and cleavages in the system of international arbitration as we know it today,…

Canadian Arbitration Week ran online from September 20 – 24, 2021 under the theme of adaptation and acceleration.  A timely focus as the pandemic continues to accelerate sweeping changes in the legal world. The 2021 YCAP Fall Symposium titled “New World, New Rules” took place on September 23 and addressed the theme in a session…

What does the future hold for investment protection in Europe? A colossal question that resonates across board rooms and government halls on both sides of the Channel. With a consortium of investment law experts including Nikos Lavranos (NL Investment Consulting), Ayse Lowe (Bench Walk), Gordon Nardell QC (Twenty Essex), and Laura Rees-Evans (Fietta LLP) joining…

Calls for investor-State dispute settlement (“ISDS”) reform have persisted for some time (see blog coverage here). Competing calls for retaining the status quo, modifying the system, or abandoning the system altogether have each gained traction. With a drastic increase in the number of investment cases being brought, accompanied by the “mega” awards, the international community…

The economic turmoil brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly give parties pause in weighing the potential benefits of pursuing an arbitration claim, no matter how strong it is believed to be.1)The author thanks and acknowledges Mr. Akihiro Hironaka and Mr. Mihiro Koeda for their comments on this piece. Yet international disputes and arbitration…

Hong Kong currently prohibits lawyers from using outcome related fee structures (“ORFSs”), including “No-Win, No-Fee” type arrangements, for arbitrations and other contentious matters. This looks set to change for arbitrations, however, following the publication late last year of a compelling Consultation Paper by the Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration Sub-committee of the Law Reform…