Third party funding

CIETAC, HKIAC, HKIAC Rules, Hong Kong, Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Rights, Third party funding

(Fangda Partners)/ /Leave a comment
HK45

As Hong Kong enters the year of the Rooster, its arbitration community can look back on a year of the Monkey in which the territory’s institutions and authorities implemented a number of initiatives aimed to promote arbitration, and its courts rendered several pro-arbitration decisions. Third party funding for arbitration in Hong Kong In November 2016,…

Appeal, Arbitral Award, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrator Intelligence, Arbitrators, Diversity, Financial Industry, Investment Arbitration, Third party funding, Transparency

(Corrs Chambers Westgarth)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

2016 was an important year for international arbitration. Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales challenged the legitimacy of international arbitration, while supporters such as former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia (Robert French AC) came forward to defend its coexistence with commercial courts. Several institutions such as ACICA, SIAC and KCAB updated…

Italy, Third party funding

, (Lombardi Segni e Associati)/ /Leave a comment

On Friday 13 January 2017, the Italian law firm Lombardi Segni e Associati hosted an ICC YAF event on Third-Party Funding (“TPF”) at its Milan office. The debate was introduced by Philippe Pinsolle (Partner, Quinn Emmanuel), key-note speaker of the event. Yasmin Mohammad (Senior Counsel, Vannin Capital), Shannon Lazzarini (Head of Group Litigation, Unicredit) and…

Arbitration, Hong Kong, Singapore, Third party funding

(Advocate, Arbitrator and Mediator) and (Clyde & Co.)/ /Leave a comment
Clyde & Co.

Readers of this blog will need no reminding that, in the Queen Mary-White & Case 2015 International Arbitration Survey, the seats of Hong Kong and Singapore were amongst the top five most preferred and widely used seats by respondents to that survey. Both jurisdictions are known for adopting competitive and innovative arbitration laws to promote…

Arbitration, Cost allocation mechanisms, Costs, Security for Costs, Third party funding

(University of Aberdeen)/ /4 Comments

Security for costs, a measure which is perceived as a savior for those who are forced to arbitrate with (allegedly) impecunious parties, can have several connections with the industry of third party funding. Third party funding, as a new trend in international arbitration, has certainly disturbed many waters, including those related to security for costs….

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, IBA Guidelines on Party Representation, Investment Arbitration, Secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal, The Pledge, Third party funding

(Bocconi University)/ /3 Comments
Arbitrator Intelligence

If James Bond practiced law, it would be international arbitration. Don’t believe me? Just consider how many international arbitration cases could be great plots for a James Bond movie. Take, for example, the case in which an Israeli investor was arrested in Tbilisi and jailed following a cognac-laced sting operation that caught the investor on…

Law Firms, Third party funding

(Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law)/ /7 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The line between third-party funders and law firms is blurring. Originally, there were only two traditional types of third-party funding arrangements. In the first type, the third-party funder makes an agreement to finance the legal expenses of the claimant or respondent in a case in exchange for a portion of the claimant’s awarded amount, if…

Arbitration, Third party funding, UK

(BCH Advogados)/ /3 Comments

1. In the past weeks, much ink has been spilt over the recent decision of the High Court of Justice in the Essar v. Norscot case. In his decision, J. Waksman QC confirmed the award made by Sir Philip Otto in an ICC arbitration seated in London. A broad description of this case has already…

Costs in arbitral proceedings, English Arbitration Act, English Law, Third party funding

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

A new development in the third party funding arena prompts an increased analysis of the theoretical foundations of the nature of third party funding. At the moment, there are divergent views on its proper place and treatment, and with increased prevalence a piecemeal approach with little theoretical groundwork risks creating a minefield resulting in unpredictability…

Actual expenditure, Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, ASEAN, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Best practices, Bias, BIT, China, CIETAC, Code of Ethics, Commercial Arbitration, Confidentiality and Transparency, Conflicts of interest, Costs in arbitral proceedings, Disclosure, Ethics, Hong Kong, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, ICSID Arbitration, Independence and Impartiality, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, PRC, Security for Costs, Third party funding

(Norton Rose Fulbright LLP) and (Fangda Partners)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

Introduction On 23 May 2016, CIETAC’s Hong Kong Arbitration Center (CIETAC HKAC) issued for public consultation draft Guidelines for third party funding (the draft Guidelines). Third party funding (TPF) is a hot topic in Hong Kong. The draft Guidelines come in the wake of recent initiatives to clarify the law on TPF in the territory,…

Confidentiality, Third party funding

(ICCA-Queen Mary Task Force on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

While the great third-party funding debate appears to centre on the issues of disclosure, arbitrator bias, security for costs, and regulation, the potential conflicts between third-party funding and confidentiality in arbitration proceedings have so far received comparatively little attention. Perhaps not rightly so, as the following example shall illustrate: The claimant in a commercial arbitration has agreed…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Singapore, Third party funding

(Clifford Chance Asia (in formal law alliance in Singapore between Clifford Chance Pte Ltd and Cavenagh Law LLP)), (Clifford Chance), and (Clifford Chance LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In recent years, international arbitration has emerged as a high-growth area for the litigation funding industry. All the major funders now have international arbitration cases in their portfolios, and many are aggressively seeking more – especially investment treaty cases. But the participation of funders in international arbitration raises a number of issues, some national and…

Arbitration, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, SIAC, Third party funding

(Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

More or less since 2010, the topic of third party funding (“TPF”) in connection with international arbitration has been everywhere (heard of, seen in practice, written about, presented at conferences, and so on). In a series of recent developments however, TPF has been, for the first time, made subject to mandatory provisions contained in the…

Disclosure, Third party funding, Uncategorized

, (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /2 Comments

The ICC’s adoption, on 12 February 2016, of a “Guidance Note for the disclosure of conflicts by arbitrators,” which “aims at ensuring that arbitrators are forthcoming and transparent in their disclosure of potential conflicts” (See ICC Press Release dated 23.2.2016, “ICC Court adopts Guidance Note on conflict disclosures by arbitrators”), is a development of interest…

Amicus Curiae, Investment Arbitration, SIAC, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Third party funding

, (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment
WilmerHale

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) published a draft of new investment arbitration rules (the “draft SIAC IA Rules”) for public comment on 1 Feb 2016. They will be finalized on 27 May 2016. The draft SIAC IA Rules are a unique hybrid of modern commercial arbitration rules and specialist investment arbitration rules (e.g. the…

Third party funding, Uncategorized

(General Editor International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management; Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

The last several years have witnessed a tremendous increase in the participation of third-party funders in international arbitration.  A growing number of claimants are seeking external funding, either because they lack the necessary funds to commence arbitration proceedings (which are becoming increasingly more expensive) or because they want to maintain cash-flow and offset the risk…

Arbitration, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, Third party funding

(Coz & Blavi)/ /1 Comment

Third party funding (“TPF”) has attracted a great deal of attention from the legal community, as it offers significant advantages and poses serious risks for international arbitration. Besides guaranteeing access to justice for those who are financially incapable of bearing the costs of an arbitration proceeding, the funded party will most certainly benefit from limiting…

Hong Kong, Third party funding, Uncategorized

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

On 19 October 2015, the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission published a Consultation Paper recommending that third party funding should be permitted for arbitrations in Hong Kong. The Paper invites public comment on the recommendation, and how third party funding should be adopted in Hong Kong. A link to the paper can be found here….

Arbitration, Third party funding

(Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law)/ /3 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

Third-party funding is a controversial, dynamic, and evolving phenomenon in international arbitration. Proponents and opponents of third-party funding debate whether the practice will make a positive or negative impact on the worldwide system of dispute resolution. Both sides of the debate make predictions regarding the effect of third-party funders through the cases that they finance….

Arbitrators, IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, Secretary of the Arbitral Tribunal, Third party funding

(Clyde & Co. LLP), (gunnercooke LLP), and / /1 Comment
Clyde & Co.

The IBA recently revised its Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration. This was the culmination of a review by the IBA Arbitration Committee, which began in 2012. The salient changes address the rise of advance declarations by arbitrators; third-party funding; increasing significance of arbitral secretaries; and the possibility that an arbitrator, and counsel…

Arbitration, Disclosure, Third party funding

(Chapman Tripp)/ /7 Comments

and Paula Gibbs, Chapman Tripp Introduction The spotlight continues to shine on third party funding in international arbitration, following the recent Alemanni decision and unsuccessful disqualification proposal filed against Dr Gavan Griffith QC in the RSM v St Lucia ICSID arbitration (reported on in this blog by Carlos Gonzalez-Bueno and Laura Lozano). A similar spotlight…

Costs, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Security for Costs, Third party funding

(González-Bueno & Asociados)/ /1 Comment

and Laura Lozano, González-Bueno & Asociados It is known that third party funding has become one of the hot topics in the international arbitration arena. Indeed, it is not the first time this blog deals with the matter. Amongst others, Munir Maniruzzaman and Lisa Bench Nieuwveld have already explored this tool that provides the necessary…

Arbitrators, Foreign Investment Law, Investment Arbitration, Third party funding, Treaty

(Corporate Europe Observatory )/ /4 Comments

By Pia Eberhardt, Corporate Europe Observatory, and Cecilia Olivet, Transnational Institute At the end of November, Corporate Europe Observatory and the Transnational Institute published Profiting from Injustice, a report that looks at the role of law firms, arbitrators and third-party funders in investment treaty arbitration. In it, we argued that the arbitration industry has fuelled…