England, ICC Rules, MENA, New York Convention, Public Policy, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, UAE

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent enforcement action of a foreign arbitral award rendered under the ICC Rules in London, England, the Dubai Court of Appeal questioned the United Kingdom’s proper membership of the 1958 New York Convention (on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards) (the “NYC” or simply the “Convention”). The action was brought by…

Amicus Curiae, Enforcement, International Court of Justice, International Courts, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, ITLOS, Model BIT, TPP, U.S. Supreme Court, Venezuela

/ /Leave a comment

Recently the U.S. Executive Branch made headlines by agreeing with Venezuela. In particular, the Executive Branch filed an amicus curiae submission in New York federal appeals court in which it agreed with Venezuela regarding the treatment of ICSID awards in U.S. courts. According to the U.S. Executive (and Venezuela), a party seeking recognition of an…

Arbitral Award, Dubai, Due process

(Motei & Associates)/ /Leave a comment

Motei & Associates was instructed by the Respondent in recent legal proceedings between two parties (details for which must remain confidential) before the Dubai Courts in relation to the ratification of an arbitral award issued by the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). Appeal Court’s rationale An arbitrator is under an obligation to give the parties…

Uncategorized

, (Schellenberg Wittmer)/ /1 Comment
Schellenberg Wittmer

In a decision dated 16 March 2016 (4A_628/2015), the Swiss Supreme Court decided the long-open question of the consequence of a failure to comply with a mandatory pre-tier to arbitration, finding that such failure leads to the stay of the arbitration proceedings until the pre-arbitral tier has been conducted. The modalities of the stay (in…

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…

Criminal law and arbitration, ICSID Arbitration, Provisional measures

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /1 Comment

In two recent cases, ICSID tribunals have been asked to consider applications for provisional measures relating to criminal proceedings initiated against the claimants. On 3 March 2016, the tribunal in Hydro S.r.l and others v. Republic of Albania (ICSID Case No. ARB/15/28) (the Hydro case) partly granted a request to recommend the suspension of criminal…

Journal of International Arbitration

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

Queen Mary University of London & Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP   Volume 33 (2016) Issue 2 contains: ARTICLES SECTION Nadia Darwazeh & Adrien Leleu, Disclosure and Security for Costs or How to Address Imbalances Created by Third-Party Funding Abstract: The growth of third-party funding (TPF) in international arbitrations seems to have intensified…

Arbitrators, Surveys

(Greenwood Arbitration)/ /6 Comments

Co-authored with Michael McIlwrath, General Electric Company, and Ema Vidak-Gojkovic, Baker & McKenzie GAR Live Stockholm recently shone a spotlight on our article “Puppies or Kittens? How To Better Match Arbitrators to Party Expectations”, published in the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration earlier this year. In our article we proposed that arbitrators complete a questionnaire…

Uncategorized

(Linklaters), (Linklaters LLP), and (Fieldfisher)/ /Leave a comment

In a highly anticipated judgment which was handed down on 20 April 2016, The Hague District Court (the “Court”) set aside the $50 billion Yukos awards rendered against the Russian Federation in arbitration proceedings administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The Court, which was competent to hear Russia’s claim in the…

Brazil, Consent, Enforcement, Non-signatory, Res Judicata

(Clyde & Co.)/ /Leave a comment
Clyde & Co.

Arbitration in Brazil has come a long way since the passing of the Brazilian Arbitration Act in 1996 (the “BAA”). The BAA has its origins in the UNCITRAL Model Law and even though it preceded Brazil’s ratification of the New York Convention by six years, the BAA is consistent with the New York Convention, at…

Bosnia and Herzegovina, ICC Arbitration, ICC Rules

(Armstrong Teasdale)/ /Leave a comment

There is a saying in Bosnia and Herzegovina: “A tree does not grow from the sky”. In the same vein, an arbitration-friendly legal environment does not come about without much persistence and hard graft. As expert consultants tasked with assisting the Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) division of the U.S. Department of Commerce with its…

Evidence, Expropriation, Investment Arbitration, Singapore, Singapore Court of Appeal, VCLT

(Clifford Chance Asia)/ /Leave a comment

On 4 April 2016, the Singapore Court of Appeal heard an appeal from Sanum Investments Limited (“Sanum“) (a Macanese company) against the High Court’s decision holding that an arbitral tribunal hearing Sanum’s claim against Laos for expropriation under the China-Laos bilateral investment treaty (the “BIT“) had no jurisdiction. The issue of the tribunal’s jurisdiction turns…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Agreements, DIFC, Dubai, UAE

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a ruling of earlier this month (see CFI 017/2015 – Emirates NBD Bank PJSC v. Infospan Gulf Inc., ruling of the DIFC Court of First Instance of 3rd April 2016) H.E. Justice Ali Al Madhani, one of the UAE-national resident judges of the DIFC Courts, sitting in the DIFC Court of First Instance, found…

Uncategorized

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

Preliminary determinations provide a potential mechanism to streamline proceedings, but should be used with caution.  This article examines the increased attention given to preliminary determinations in international arbitration.  First, it explains what preliminary determinations are and how they differ from summary judgment procedures.  Second, it examines the change in recent years, in the use of…

Uncategorized

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

  A recent order of an ICSID tribunal in the US$1.4 billion dispute regarding Argentina’s nationalisation of two airlines brings to the focus the ways and means of States to conduct the arbitration proceedings in bad faith. Indeed, the complaints by the Claimants highlight some of the tools of the toolbox which are available to…

Uncategorized

(20 Essex Street)/ /Leave a comment

A tribunal in an investor-state arbitration under the SCC rules issued an award on 21 January 2016, in Charanne B.V, & Construction Investments S.A.R.L vs The Kingdom of Spain, the first of a series of cases arising from reforms Spain made in the renewable energy sector. The tribunal found that regulatory measures modifying the feed-in…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Counsel

and (White & Case LLP)/ /1 Comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

Historically, there has been no binding uniform code of ethics governing the conduct of counsel appearing before international arbitral tribunals or dictating how issues of counsel conduct are to be resolved in international arbitration. Recently, however, efforts have been made to fill this void by international organizations and arbitral institutions. For example, in 2013, the…

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitrators

, (Schoenherr)/ /1 Comment
Schoenherr

Discussions of arbitrators’ powers have riveted the international arbitration community. Practitioners increasingly face situations where arbitrators seem cautious and reluctant to rule on procedural issues. While such a careful approach may be advisable where arbitrators prudently avoid overstepping their powers, it may, at times, also frustrate parties and practitioners alike. This phenomenon has fostered endeavours…

Arbitration, Lloyd’s Standard Salvage and Arbitration Clauses, Maritime Arbitration

(University of Missouri School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Although maritime arbitration is now considered to be distinct from both international commercial arbitration and investment arbitration, the procedures have common legal roots as well as many common procedures. As a result, specialists in commercial and investment proceedings may be interested in certain recent amendments to Lloyd’s Standard Salvage and Arbitration Clauses, particularly with respect…

Consent, Sport arbitration

(The National University of Advanced Legal Studies )/ /Leave a comment

There are a multitude of jurisdictional issues being faced by the newly developed Sports arbitration sector, which has gained popularity primarily since nearly all major Sports Bodies have made it a mandatory part of participating in events. This issue has been a constant bone of contention between athletes, who wish to be given more choice…

Uncategorized

(Wilberforce Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

Harris Bor, Barrister, Wilberforce Chambers, London On 9 March 2016, Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, delivered the Bailii lecture on “Rebalancing the Relationship between the Courts and Arbitration”. In it he claims that arbitration is hindering the development of the common law by taking cases away from national courts and…