Africa, Arbitral Award, Arbitral seat, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Ethiopia, Uncategorized

(Equanimity Arbitration)/ /1 Comment

Five years after filing the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Case No. 2013-32 under the European Development Fund Arbitration Rules (EDF Rules), the claimant, Consta JV (an Italian contractor), would have hoped for a successful award against the CDE (a joint enterprise between the Ethiopian and Djibouti government) that would be upheld by the local…

Africa, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitrators, Counsel

(SOAS, University of London)/ /Leave a comment

Diversity in arbitration is currently topical, and this drove our engagement with it in relation to race (particularly African) in this survey. Related to this, is the entrenched perceptions against African arbitration practitioners which has negatively impacted on their participation in international arbitration (including Africa-connected disputes). The primary perception is that African arbitration practitioners are…

Arbitration, ITA, Parallel Proceedings

(Dechert)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The 30th Annual ITA Workshop on Multiple Proceedings, Multiple Parties, and International Arbitration: What a Tangled Web We Weave, took place in Dallas, Texas on 20-22 June 2018.  Co-chairing were Erica Stein (Dechert), Jean-Christophe Honlet (Dentons), and Frédéric G. Sourgens (Washburn University).  The workshop, a lead event of the ITA, was dedicated to an in-depth…

Achmea, BIT, Termination

, (Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

On 6 March 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) issued its long-awaited decision in the Achmea case (C-284/16) between the Slovak Republic and Dutch insurer Achmea BV. In Achmea, the CJEU found investor-state dispute settlement provisions in investment treaties concluded between EU Member States (“intra-EU BITs“) to be incompatible with EU law….

Admissibility, Criminal law and arbitration, ICSID, ISDS, Jurisdiction

(British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL))/ /1 Comment

Investor-state tribunals frequently face allegations of economic crimes, especially in jurisdictions with a weak rule of law. For instance, the largest ever investor–State award of $50 billion in Yukos v Russian Federation, primarily concerned a criminal investigation of alleged tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement by what was then the largest Russian oil company. The tribunal…

India, Injunction, Investment Arbitration

(Wadia Ghandy & Co)/ /2 Comments

A plethora of business transactions today have evolved into complex structures of multi-faceted sub-transactions. Multiple parties enter into several distinct, yet interconnected and interdependent agreements towards achieving a common commercial goal. Every so often, however, one or more of these interconnected agreements will lack an arbitration agreement; whereas the others will contain similar/related arbitration clauses….

Arbitration, Blockchain, Smart Contracts

(Blaney McMurtry LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In recent years, consumers, governments, and public interest groups have increasingly raised concerns over human rights abuses in the mining sector. Businesses are facing growing pressure from the public in this regard and various countries have as a result adopted legislation imposing a variety of due diligence and reporting obligations on corporations sourcing and using…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitrators, Sole Arbitrator

(Independent Practitioner based in Bogota, Colombia)/ /Leave a comment

During a recent conference on international arbitration, an in-house lawyer mentioned that whenever faced with the possibility of agreeing to an arbitration clause that provides for a sole arbitrator, she noted certain resistance within the company. There seemed to be a certain apprehension on placing the burden of deciding a dispute on a single person…

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Savoie Arbitration) and (Fordham School of Law)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Recent events such as the NAFTA re-negotiations have drawn leading newspapers around the world to turn their attention to ISDS tribunals. Often in an effort to make their stories sensational, they speak of “obscure tribunals,” “secret trade court,” and “justice behind closed doors,” most of the time giving it an unfair and biased image. In…

Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, ISDS, Mexico, NAFTA

(Cooley LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

Mexico held its general elections (including presidential election) on July 1st. The Government of the country has shifted from a center-right president, Enrique Peña Nieto from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party), to the favorite candidate for the recent elections, the left-wing politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”). AMLO, a member of the Movimiento…

Arbitration, Consolidation, M&A

(Jingtian & Gongcheng)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Introduction In many commercial transactions, there will be multiple agreements among various parties, and those agreements often contain “entire agreement” clauses to ensure that the parties are bound only by the terms of the agreement(s) they sign. However, such a clause may be invoked and interpreted in a way surprising to the parties, especially in…

Ethics, professional associations, regulation, sociology of international arbitration

(University of Macau)/ /Leave a comment

The unique way arbitrators organize and regulate themselves has been increasingly an interest of mine. Being within the world of arbitration it is easy to forget how unique the arbitration ‘market’ and the arbitrators’ ‘function’ is. Undoubtably one of the most curious aspects of international arbitration is how distinctive the process of ‘professionalisation’ of arbitrators…

Arbitration, Oil & Gas

(School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) )/ /Leave a comment
Young ITA

The first of the Young ITA Talks in London, organized by Young ITA, kicked off on 1 May 2018 at White & Case’s London offices. The theme for the evening was ‘Oil and Gas Arbitration Involving State and State Entities’, and the event featured two panel discussions, with leading practitioners offering their insights on traps…

Annulment, Arbitral Award, Public Policy, Spain

(Linklaters)/ /1 Comment
Linklaters

On 5 April 2018, the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Madrid High Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, TSJM) set aside an arbitral award as contrary to public policy, because the challenged award contained “an unreasonable assessment of the evidence and unreasonable failure to apply applicable rules”.1) Competent Court to deal…

BIT, Ecuador, Human Rights, Morocco, Nigeria

, (Allen & Overy)/ /Leave a comment

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Allen & Overy, nor those of its clients. Introduction Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented level of attention on corporate responsibility for human rights. As public calls for action in this area intensify, States are…

Brexit, Energy Charter Treaty, European Law, European Union, Fair and Equitable Treatment, Spain

(School of Law, University of Westminster)/ /Leave a comment

It is widely acknowledged that the departure of the UK from the EU, commonly referred to as Brexit, gives rise to multiple legal problems, some of which are bound to lead to actions. While there is a widespread coverage of public law related litigation, there is less knowledge of potential private actions, including those taking…

Arbitrators, Diversity, empirical data, Queen Mary- White & Case Survey

(White & Case LLP) and (White & Case)/ /1 Comment

The results of the 2018 Queen Mary/White & Case International Arbitration Survey were launched on 9 May 2018. The survey explores “The Evolution of International Arbitration”: how international arbitration has evolved, the key areas for development in the future, and who and what will shape the future evolution of the field. This is the 4thsurvey conducted…

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

/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Security for costs is a controversial territory in international arbitration, especially in investment arbitration. On one side is the respondent State which seeks security for defending a claim with the taxpayers’ resources. However, on the other side, there is the claimant who might become financially incapable of accessing justice if it is asked to…

Journal of International Arbitration

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

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Cherie Blair, CBE, QC, Ema Vidak-Gojkovic & Marie-Anaïs Meudic-Role, The Medium Is the Message: Establishing a System of Business and Human Rights Through Contract Law and Arbitration This article seeks to paint a picture…

Domestic Courts, Investment Arbitration, Review of Domestic Court Decisions, State entity, State Responsibility

(Meitar Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

State Responsibility for State Organ’s Conduct The fact that a state can be held liable for its organs’ conduct is part of a wider notion that sees states as responsible for their internationally wrongful acts. This notion was codified in the ILC Articles of State Responsibility. Article 1 states that “every internationally wrongful act of…

ADR, Arbitration

(Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong )/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The question of voluntary and mandatory ADR including arbitration has been a richly debated topic in many jurisdictions. Since the mid-twentieth century, the question of achieving procedural and substantive justice in the context of judicial dispute resolution has received significant attention beginning with the work of Owen Fiss and Lon Fuller who articulated early insights…

Blockchain, International Arbitration Procedures, LegalTech, Reputational Systems, Technology

(QIL + 4 ABOGADOS / Universidad Francisco Marroquín)/ /1 Comment

Under arbitration, the parties submit their disputes to an arbitral tribunal (or sole arbitrator) who rules on pre-hearing disputes, conducts the arbitration, and issues a binding award on the parties.  However, the desirability of arbitration as a dispute-resolution mechanism rests largely on the perception of the reputation of the arbitrators. On the one hand, the…

Arbitration Industry, Arbitration institution, Arbitrators, empirical data, transparency

(General Editor International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management; Queen Mary University of London) and (Queen Mary University of London)/ /1 Comment

On 9 May 2018, the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London, in partnership with White & Case LLP, launched the 2018 Queen Mary/White & Case International Arbitration Survey: The Evolution of International Arbitration. As its title suggests, the survey sought to assess user perceptions of the evolution of key issues in…

Environment, Human Rights, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investment Treaties, Investor, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

Based on the panel discussion moderated at the 30th Annual ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting, with panelists Lorraine de Germiny, Robert Landicho, and Laura Sinisterra.1) This post is a summary of the first panel discussion of the Young ITA Roundtable, 30th Annual ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting: Multiple Proceedings, Multiple Parties, and International Arbitration: What…