Code of Ethics, Courts, ISDS, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Transparency, UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency

(School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL))/ /2 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

The following thoughts are written aware of the fact that a blog is personal and informational and not a substitute for an academic article. In this spirit the thoughts expressed here are, while fundamental in many respects, also preliminary and tentative in some others. The quest for more transparency in international (commercial and investment) arbitration…

Fair and Equitable Treatment, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention

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

The case of Perenco Ecuador Limited v Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No. ARB/08/6 (Decision, 12 September 2014), is one of a number of investor-state disputes to arise from the Ecuadoran government’s policies on the so-called “extraordinary income” of oil companies operating in its territory in the mid to late 2000s. Keen followers of international…

Anti-suit injunction, Brussels Regulation, EU Regulation 44/ 2001

(Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

On 4 December 2014, the Advocate General (“AG”) of the CJEU handed down an opinion in the Gazprom case (C-536/13) which will surprise. The case concerns the compatibility with EU Regulation 44/2001 (the “Brussels I Regulation”) of an anti-suit award made by an EU seated arbitral tribunal against EU court proceedings elsewhere. In approving this,…

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…

Argentina, BIT, Consent, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

(General Editor International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management; Emory University)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

On November 17, 2014, the tribunal in Alemanni v. Argentine Republic issued its long-anticipated decision on jurisdiction and admissibility. Alemanni is the third in a series of large-scale arbitrations arising out of Argentina’s default on its sovereign debt, and the most recent decision bears some resemblance to the preliminary awards rendered in the other two…

Competition Law, Corruption, France, Set aside an arbitral award

(Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

For many years, the standard of review by French courts of awards rendered in international arbitration proceedings on grounds of violation of international public policy has been controversial. Scholars have debated the relative merits of a “minimalist” as opposed to a “maximalist” approach. In court decisions, the “minimalist” approach prevailed. In the area of competition…

Brussels Regulation, Domestic law, Enforcement, European Law, Parallel Proceedings

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

As has been discussed previously on this blog, the recast Brussels Regulation contains a number of important clarifications to the arbitration exception. Paragraph 3 of Recital 12 and Article 73(2) make it clear that the recast Regulation shall not affect the application of the New York Convention (the “Convention”). The recast Regulation should allow a…

Africa, Arbitration, BIT, Brazil, China, Free Trade Agreements, Latin America

(The Chinese University of Hong Kong)/ /2 Comments

The rise of China as a major economic and political actor is one of the defining features of the twentieth-first century. Much of China’s growing power comes from its ever-expanding economy. In order to expand its blossoming economy, China needs to tap into new markets. In an age of intense market integration and economic competition,…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Poland

, (Kocur & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Arbitration at the Polish Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw (the Court) has just published new arbitration rules (the Rules) that will come into force as of 1 January 2015. The Court is the oldest arbitral institution in Poland. It handles around 350-450 cases each year, with around 20-25% of them being international…

Conciliation, Mediation, Surveys, UNCITRAL

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

Two months ago, readers of the Kluwer Arbitration blog were asked to participate in some ongoing surveys relating international commercial mediation and conciliation. The studies were being conducted to assist UNCITRAL and UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration and Conciliation) as they consider a proposal from the Government of the United States regarding a possible convention…

Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, UNCITRAL

(International Moot Court Competition Association (IMCCA))/ /Leave a comment

and Oleg Temnikov 1. Approaches to cost allocation There are, generally, two approaches to costs allocation (“CA”), namely: (1) pay your own way (“PYOWA”) whereby the parties share the costs of the proceedings and bear their own legal costs; (2) loser pays or also called “costs follow the event” approach (“CFTEA”) under which the losing…

Arbitration, BIT, Canada, Foreign Investment Law, ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Middle East, Uncategorized, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In an Award on Jurisdiction rendered earlier this year under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the “ICSID Convention”) in ICSID Case No. ARB/11/7 – National Gas S.A.E. v. Arab Republic of Egypt (a copy of which is electronically available on the official Investment Treaty Arbitration…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Romania

(Legal Research Institute of Romanian Academy)/ /Leave a comment
ArbitralWomen

Why is the evolution of international commercial arbitration important for Romania? First of all, Romania has a significant geostrategic position: it lies at the crossroads of three large international markets: the European Union, the Balkans and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Romania is the access gate of the East to the single market of the…

France, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Seat of the arbitration, United States

(Sydney Law School)/ /9 Comments

The enforcement of awards following a decision at the seat remains a controversial issue in international arbitration. Should an enforcement court follow the decision of the seat court, or can the enforcement court reach a different conclusion? US courts and French courts continue to take different approaches to this issue. US courts will defer to…

Set aside an arbitral award, Singapore

(Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment
Hogan Lovells

The Singapore courts have a well-earned reputation for supporting arbitration proceedings and favouring minimal curial intervention. That reputation has been enhanced by a number of recent decisions in which the courts have either granted stays of court actions pending the resolution of arbitration proceedings or rejected applications for arbitral awards to be set aside, including…

Arbitration, China, European Union, Hong Kong, Russia

(Fangda Partners)/ /5 Comments

Numerous commentators have reported on the sanctions war in the past. What remains to see is how the sanctions war affects the Russia-related arbitration geography. On 8 September 2014, the European Union introduced a new set of sanctions on major Russian companies and wealthy individuals. The sanctions came following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its…

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, DIFC, Dispute, Dispute Resolution, Middle East, Uncategorized, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent lecture at the DIFC Courts (see Lecture Series No. 5, Practice Direction providing for the wider enforcement of Court Judgments through DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre, 19 November 2014), Chief Justice Michael Hwang announced that the DIFC Court Practice Direction No. X of 2014 amending Practice Direction No. 2 of 2012 DIFC Courts’ Jurisdiction…

Arbitration Agreements, International arbitration, Israel, New York Convention

(University of Alberta Faculty of Law)/ /1 Comment

The dispute in Siemens AG and Siemens Israel Ltd. v. Israeli Electric Cooperation Ltd. (3331/14, Supreme Court of Israel Judgment, 13 August 2014) arose out of a request for tenders for the purchase and maintenance of gas turbines issued by the Israeli Electric Cooperation (IEC), following which it entered into several contracts with Siemens Israel…

Ad hoc arbitration, Annulment, Arbitral Award, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Awards, International arbitration, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Public Policy

(Mechantaf Law)/ /Leave a comment

In one of the very rare decisions issued by courts in the Arab world applying the provisions of the Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States (the “UAIAC”), the Cairo Court of Appeal has revived in its decision dated February 5, 2014, the principle of finality of arbitration awards, by…

Arbitral Tribunal, Counsel, Guerrilla Tactics, IBA Guidelines on Party Representation, LCIA Arbitration, LCIA Guidelines for Parties' Legal Representatives

(Loyola University Chicago School of Law)/ /5 Comments
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

There have been increasing calls over the past few years for an international code of conduct for counsel in international commercial arbitration, and for arbitrators to have more power to control counsel conduct. The growing concern is related to significant changes that have taken place in international arbitration practice. Arbitration is no longer controlled by…

Appeal, Arbitration, Arbitration Awards, Awards, DIFC, Dubai, Enforcement, Middle East, Public Policy, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Review on the merits, Uncategorized, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /1 Comment

In a recent ruling of the DIFC Court of Appeal (see Case CA-005-2-14, ruling of the DIFC Court of Appeal of 3rd November 2014), Justice Sir David Steel affirmed the previous ruling of the DIFC Court of First Instance in Banyan Tree v. Meydan Group LLC (see Case No. ARB 003/2013 – Banyan Tree Corporate…

ICSID Arbitration, ICSID Convention, Investment, Investment agreements, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor

(Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law)/ /4 Comments

Paraphrasing Churchill, investment arbitration is the worst form of foreign investment dispute resolution, except for all the others. Post-Suez, governments are more civilised than to employ gunboat diplomacy for their own investors, and local courts are inherently partial. Achieving neutrality is the objective, and the only means: investment arbitration. This is the conventional wisdom for…

Uncategorized

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

I am writing to announce an opening for the position of Associate Editor for the Kluwer Arbitration Blog. The Associate Editor will report directly to me and work closely with the Kluwer team and Crina Baltag, our other Associate Editor. The essential duties of the Associate Editor are (1) collecting, editing and reviewing guest submissions…

Arbitrability, Arbitration, Energy, Mexico

(Wöss & Partners SC)/ /Leave a comment

1. Background Modern arbitration in Mexico commenced with the reforms to the Mexican Commercial Code in 1989 and with the incorporation in such code of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration in 1993. Project agreements with state entities such as Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) may be submitted to…