Arbitrability, Arbitration, Commercial Arbitration, Corporate disputes, Investment Arbitration, Russia, Uncategorized

(Karimullin Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

Under sec 1 of the RF Law on International Commercial Arbitration 5338-1 of 07.07.1993, disputes arising from civil, including corporate, relationships may be referred to international commercial arbitration, unless otherwise provided by law. However, there is no such restriction provided. In some cases, such as Novolipetsk Still Mill (NLMK) v. Nikolay Maksimov (Decrees of the…

Arbitration, Greece, ICSID Arbitration, Investment Arbitration

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

While everyone has been watching with fascination the ups and downs of the Greek crisis, colleagues have been busy in the background trying to unravel some core components of the Greek Bailouts. The PSI deal, which is largely responsible for passing the burden of any potential Greek default from private hands onto public coffers, has…

Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

(Italian Association for Arbitration (AIA))/ /Leave a comment

Co-authored with Maria Laura Marceddu, Italian Association for Arbitration (AIA) The Public Consultations launched by the European Commission in March 2014, and the European Parliament’s recommendations to the Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership [TTIP], in July 2015, have revealed a widespread criticism against the traditional investment arbitration system. Mighty…

Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrator's Fees, Set aside an arbitral award, Set aside an international arbitral award, Sweden

(Climate Change Counsel)/ /Leave a comment

The Swedish Arbitration Act [“Act”] is currently under review. In 2014, 15 years after the Act first entered into force, a committee was given the task of assessing how well it has worked in practice and how it measures up internationally. According to the committee’s terms of reference, the primary motivation behind the review is…

China, CIETAC, SHIAC

(Ghent University)/ /Leave a comment

China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) are the best-known international arbitration institutions in China that deal with the resolution of international commercial disputes. There are, however, other arbitral institutions in China that are also empowered to resolve international commercial disputes, by virtue of the Notice of the…

Journal of International Arbitration

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

Queen Mary University of London & Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Volume 32 (2015) Issue 5 contains: ARTICLES SECTION Seung CHONG & C.L. LIM, The Convergence of China’s Foreign and Domestic Investment Regimes and China’s Investment Treaty Commitments Abstract: The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has issued a…

Investment Arbitration

(Xtrategy LLP) and (Arnold & Porter LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Part I of this article analyzed the three jurisdictional requirements under the ICSID Convention for submission of counterclaims. Now we turn to three investor-State tribunal decisions decided within the last two years, and how they have contributed to the jurisprudence on counterclaims: Metal-Tech v. Uzbekistan (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/3, Award, 4 October 2013), Al-Warraq v….

BIT, India

(Stephenson Harwood LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

The engines of economic growth in India are moving towards full throttle. In this resurrection of India as an economic giant, foreign investors are keenly looking at safeguards the Government of India is prepared to offer to ensure that the commercial bases of their investments are protected. The corner stones of investor confidence have always…

Investment Arbitration

(Xtrategy LLP) and (Arnold & Porter LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In the last two years, three tribunals have enriched the investor-state dispute jurisprudence on counterclaims. Metal-Tech v. Uzbekistan (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/3, Award, 4 October 2013), Al-Warraq v. Indonesia (UNCITRAL, Final Award, 15 December 2014), and Perenco v. Ecuador (ICSID Case No. ARB/08/6, Interim Decision on the Environmental Counterclaim, 11 August 2015) are the relevant…

Arbitration, Arbitration institution, Arbitrator Intelligence, International arbitration, Surveys, Uncategorized

(MDisputes)/ /3 Comments

The 2015 International Arbitration Survey is out. Subtitled “Improvements and Innovations in International Arbitration,” the most recent effort by Queen Mary / White & Case has a lot to say about efforts to date to improve the practice and what more can be done. The survey’s methodology and sample size have themselves been the subject…

Canada, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Italy, Nationality requirement in arbitration clauses, UNCITRAL, Venezuela

(Covington and Burling LLP)/ /Leave a comment

For natural persons, possession of the nationality of the host state is an absolute bar to becoming a party to ICSID proceedings against that state. Article 25 of the ICSID Convention delimits the scope of arbitral jurisdiction to investment disputes between a ‘Contracting State’ and a ‘national of another Contracting State’, defined as ‘any natural…

Brazil, New York Convention

(Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide (FCDG))/ /Leave a comment

In 1996, when the Brazilian Arbitration Act (“BAA”) came into force, the New York Convention (“NYC”) was still facing considerable resistance from the Brazilian Executive and Legislative branches. At that time, there were few indications that the NYC would be ratified in the near future. This is why the draftsmen of the bill (a bill…

CETA, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Uncategorized

(NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

While the focus of the debate concerning free trade and investment agreements in Europe has been almost exclusively on the transatlantic deals with the US (TTIP) and Canada (CETA), there is far more going on in Asia with potentially much more at stake. Indeed, nothing less than a very competitive race is going on between…

Russia, Sanctions

(Herbert Smith Freehills LLP), (Herbert Smith Freehills), and (Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

Financial, trade and political sanctions have long been used by states as a tool of foreign policy. This is no less true today, where high profile sanctions regimes have been imposed against Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, North Korea, and Zimbabwe amongst many others. See, for example, the lists of sanctions maintained by the EU (see here),…

Iran, Legislation, Sanctions

(VINCI Construction Grands Projets)/ /Leave a comment

In international arbitration, the effect of international sanctions regulations usually arises at two key stages. First, at the commencement of arbitration, where arbitral institutions, arbitrators and counsel involved in the proceedings must consider if they are potentially in breach of such regulations. Secondly, at the enforcement stage, if an award is challenged under the New…

Arbitration Agreements, Russia, Unilateral Clauses

(Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners)/ /2 Comments

The issue of a unilateral (optional, alternative, hybrid) arbitration clause is highly controversial in commercial arbitration. The approach to these clauses varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In 2012, the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia (a state court), in Russian Telephone Company v. Sony Ericsson, declared a unilateral arbitration clause invalid. The decision attracted attention of…

BIT, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, Poland

(Linklaters) and / /Leave a comment

It is not unusual that a foreign investor is put in a situation where the investment has not been infringed yet and no damage has been caused, but an infringement is very likely to happen. The investor is then often left without any available domestic recourse, which is particularly true as regards general legislative measures….

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitrators

(Clifford Chance LLP) and (Clifford Chance)/ /2 Comments

Introduction It is often said that the choice of a party-nominated arbitrator is the single most important decision a party will make in any arbitration. The right to appoint one of the decision-makers sets the arbitral process apart from litigation, and is touted as a key selling point. When exercising this right, it is now…

India, Seat of the arbitration, Venue

(National Law School of India University, Bangalore)/ /Leave a comment

and Vyapak Desai, Nishith Desai Associates The Delhi High Court, in the case of PCP International Limited (“Petitioner”) v. Lanco Infratech Limited (“Respondent”), OMP (I) No. 350/2015, recently had occasion to decide which Indian court would have territorial jurisdiction in a domestic arbitration. The court, distinguishing the venue of arbitration from the seat, held that…

Arbitration, CJEU, Competition Law

(Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /Leave a comment

This is the second part of a post related to arbitration and antitrust follow-on damages claims in Europe. Part 1, which addressed problems of jurisdiction ratione materiae that arise in relation to follow-on damages claims, is accessible here. Part 2 of this commentary addresses additional challenges and opportunities that warrant attention when the possibility of…

Arbitration, CJEU, Competition Law, Tort

(Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /1 Comment

This post, which will be presented in two parts, proposes to pick-up on a subject addressed in an earlier commentary posted by R. Bellinghausen and J. Grothaus regarding the CJEU’s decision in CDC v. Akzo Nobel et al [See Judgment C-352/13]. As highlighted in the earlier post, the CJEU’s recent decision raises a number of questions…

Arbitration Agreements, Courts, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, UNCITRAL Model Law

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

By a recent judgment in Malini Ventura v Knight Capital Pte Ltd and others [2015] SGHC 225 (“Malini“), the Singapore High Court affirmed its commitment to the primacy of arbitration even in situations where the existence of the arbitration agreement is in question. In Malini, Prakash J decided that prima facie existence of an arbitration…

Journal of International Arbitration

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

Queen Mary University of London & Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP The Journal of International Arbitration was created over thirty years ago to “exchange ideas, share experiences and learn from each other of the practical problems encountered in arbitration proceedings”.  Since then, the issues raised in, and problems faced by, the international arbitration…