CETA, EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, ISDS, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

(University of Ottawa Faculty of law)/ /3 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

It has become customary for governments and other organisations to issue “Qs and As” to dispel myths about trade agreements. They usually contain categorical statements made to correct the record and reassure the concerned. The following ten “Qs and As” would likely not be issued by the EU Commission, as too many answers to the…

Arbitration, Surveys

(Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law)/ /Leave a comment

As you may (or may not) already know, a team of researchers recently concluded a study for the European Parliament on arbitration across the European Union and Switzerland. As part of this study the researchers undertook a large-scale survey of arbitration practitioners across Europe, including 871 respondents from every country in the European Union and…

Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Europe, European Law, European Union

(University of Bari Aldo Moro)/ /Leave a comment

European institutions have established the European Account Preservation Order procedure (“EAPO”) to facilitate the cross-border debt recovery through the attachment of bank accounts (see here the Regulation (EU) No. 655/2014, which will apply from 18 January 2017, except for Denmark and the United Kingdom). The EAPO in particular provides creditors with a measure alternative to national…

France, Investment Arbitration, Uncategorized

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

No less than two years ago, in a series of related judgments (the NML Ltd et al. v the Republic of Argentina saga), the French Court of cassation gave greater protection to state immunity from execution.1)G. Travaini, State 1 – Investor 0: Recent French Decisions regarding Sovereign Immunity from Execution, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (27 August…

Arbitral Award, Arbitration Agreements, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, Switzerland

(Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd, Switzerland) and (Schellenberg Wittmer )/ /Leave a comment
Schellenberg Wittmer

On 1 March 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or the “Court”) rendered a decision in the case of Tabbane v. Switzerland (application no. 41069/12). In that decision, which was published on 24 March 2016, the Court, for the first time, examined the compatibility of a waiver of recourse against an arbitral award…

Consolidation, HKIAC, HKIAC Rules, Hong Kong, Joinder

, (Debevoise & Plimpton LLP)/ /Leave a comment
HK45

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the “HKIAC”) has recently published a new Practice Note on Consolidation of Arbitrations (the “Practice Note”), which came into force on 1 January 2016. It is applicable to cases where a party submits a request for consolidation under Article 28 of the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules 2013 (the “HKIAC…

Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Rights, Unified Patent Court

(JAMS)/ /3 Comments

Arbitration of patent disputes in the United States is on the rise. While, perhaps, somewhat behind the U.S. in that respect, the evidence is that this pattern is being paralleled in Europe. Indeed, there is reason to believe that the volume has already significantly increased over the past few years and is likely to increase…

Damages, Dubai, MENA, Tort, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /2 Comments

Two recent Dubai Court of Cassation cases shed light on the question of the liability of arbitrators in the UAE (see Case No. 212/2014 – Meydan Group LLC v. Alexis Mourre, ruling of the Dubai Court of Cassation of 8 October 2015; and Case No. 284/2015 – Meydan Group LLC v. Doug Jones, Humphrey Lloyd…

Evidence, Expert Conferencing, IBA Rules of Evidence, ICC Rules, Singapore

, , (Clifford Chance) and (Clifford Chance Asia)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Expert conferencing is undoubtedly gaining popularity in international arbitration. Many leading arbitrators are supporters and proponents of expert conferencing. Its attraction is growing in Singapore, as borne out by the results of a 2013 survey by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. Expert conferencing can prove a baffling process for the lawyer trained to deal…

Arbitrability, Company Law, Minority Shareholders, Singapore, Stay of Proceedings

(Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP )/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Singapore’s highest court, the Court of Appeal (the “SGCA”), has held in Tomolugen Holdings Ltd and another v Silica Investors Ltd and other appeals [2015] 1 SLR 373, that: • The prima facie standard applies for obtaining a stay of court proceedings in favour of arbitration under the International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev…

Dubai, Enforcement

, , (DLA Piper LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Two recent decisions handed down by the DIFC Courts have further developed the enforcement landscape within the UAE, confirming the availability of a swifter enforcement regime for foreign investors. This article explores each decision in further detail and examines the significance for businesses. The DIFC Court’s recent decisions in Bocimar v ETA and DNB Bank…

Appeal, Arbitral Tribunal, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

(Vinson & Elkins LLP)/ /1 Comment
ArbitralWomen

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and should not be regarded as representative of, or binding upon ArbitralWomen and/or the author’s law firm. On 12 November 2015, in the context of its negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and in a bid to address growing criticism…

Iran-United States Claims Tribunal

(Arnold & Porter)/ /1 Comment

Part I of this two-part post looked at the recent settlement at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (“IUSCT” or Tribunal). This Part II looks at past settlements (one significant and unique settlement in particular) and the future of the Tribunal. Past Settlements at the IUSCT The Iran-US relationship over the past few decades has undoubtedly…

BIT, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

The Government of the Republic of India has adopted a revised text of the former 2003 version of its Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Having entered into effect in December 2015, this text is intended to serve as a template for negotiations of India’s existing and future investment relations with countries around the world, including…

Iran-United States Claims Tribunal

(Arnold & Porter)/ /1 Comment

Part I of this two-part post examines the recent settlement at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (“IUSCT” or Tribunal) and the case it likely pertains to. Part II will look at past settlements and the future of the Tribunal. The Tribunal The IUSCT was established in 1981 to address the crisis in relations between Iran…

Journal of International Arbitration

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

Volume 33 (2016) Issue 1 contains: Gloria Maria Alvarez, Blazej Blasikiewicz, Tabe van Hoolwerff, Kleopatra Koutouzi, Nikos Lavranos, Mary Mitsi, Emma Spiteri-Gonzi, Adrian Verdegay Mena, Piotr Willinski, ‘A Response to the Criticism against ISDS by EFILA’ (2016) 33 Journal of International Arbitration, Issue 1, pp. 1–36 Abstract This article analyzes the validity of some of…

Best practices, Book Review, Women in arbitration

/ /Leave a comment

The recently published ‘Unfinished Business’ by Anne-Marie Slaughter challenges paradigms in relation to working life and looks at what could and should still be done to improve our workplaces. As a former lawyer in private practice, Slaughter went on to build a career as a law professor before becoming Director of Policy Planning to Secretary…

Argentina, ICSID Arbitration, Uncategorized

(Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi Abogados) and (Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi)/ /Leave a comment

Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi Abogados Until recently, recognition and enforcement of investment awards remained untested before Argentine courts. This changed in 2015. On August 18, 2015, Chamber A of the National Court of Appeals on Commercial Matters, rendered a judgment on the recognition of an ICSID award in the court case “CCI – Compañía…

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…

Arbitration, European Law, European Union, Investment Arbitration

(University of Cambridge)/ /Leave a comment

Juliane Kokott, Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), gave the 2016 Mackenzie-Stuart Lecture on 26 February 2016 at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law. In her lecture, Ms. Kokott explored the conflicts between investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) and European Union (EU) law, as regards (1) conflicts between…

Ad hoc arbitration, Arbitral seat, DIFC, English Law, MENA

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a blog earlier this year (see here), I reported on the emergence of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, in shorthand ADGM, as a free zone seat of arbitration in its own right, offering a viable alternative to seating an arbitration in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). To recap, choice of the ADGM as…

Arbitration, India

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

Prior to the amendment of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (“the Act”), India’s journey towards becoming an international commercial hub that could rival Singapore and London was hampered by a largely ineffective Act and an arbitration regime that was afflicted with various problems including those of high costs and delays. To address these…

Annulment, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitrator Challenges, Peru

(Universidad del Pacifico, Faculty of Law (Peru))/ /Leave a comment

and Jose Luis Repetto Deville, Miranda & Amado Recently, the First Commercial Chamber of the Superior Court of Lima issued an annulment decision in the case MDIS v. CORAL. The court had to deal with an arbitral award rendered by two arbitrators that had been challenged (without the participation of the other arbitrator) and while…