Anti-arbitration, Arbitral seat, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Hong Kong, International Courts, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Uncategorized

(MDisputes)/ /Leave a comment

This morning, a colleague in Asia forwarded me an article with news of the latest efforts by Singapore to establish itself as a preferred location for international dispute resolution: an ambitious initiative by the country’s Law Ministry to make Singapore a regional destination for international commercial mediation, and plans to create a Singapore International Commercial…

Fair and Equitable Treatment, NAFTA, Permanent Court of Arbitration

(University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section)/ /Leave a comment

Last week the hearing on jurisdiction and liability in an arbitration between Bilcon of Delaware et al. and the Government of Canada was streamed live on the website of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (‘PCA’). One of the most disputed issues between the parties in this case is the meaning and the scope of the…

CAFTA, International arbitration, Latin America, United States

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has issued another update on its long-running dispute with Guatemala over lax protection of worker rights in the latter country. Readers of this blog may recall that the United States initiated a state-to-state arbitration against Guatemala in 2011, invoking for the first time a fast-track arbitration mechanism…

Arbitration Awards, Enforcement, ICC Arbitration, International arbitration, New York Convention, Seat of the arbitration, Uncategorized, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

A recent ruling of the Dubai Court of Appeal (see Case No. 1/2013 – Commercial Appeal, ruling of the Dubai Court of Appeal of 9 July 2013) gives new hope that despite the Dubai Court of Cassation’s disappointing approach in Case No. 156/2013 (see my blog of 21st October 2013), the UAE courts are, in…

arbitrators’ conduct, Australia, Enforcement, Estoppel, New York Convention

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

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia (the Court) recently upheld a decision enforcing an arbitral award made by three London arbitrators (Gujarat NRE Coke Limited v. Coeclerici Asia (Pte) Ltd [2013] FCAFC 109). The Court dismissed the appeal confirming that the arbitrators did not deny the appellants procedural fairness and did not…

Arbitration Act, Set aside an arbitral award

(Schönherr)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On 01 January 2014, a government bill (ErläutRV 2322 BlgNR 23. GP) introducing changes to the Austrian Arbitration Law will come into force (SchiedsRÄG 2013). Mainly Sec. 615 and 616 of the Austrian Code of Civil Procedure (ACCP), which regulate the procedural levels for challenging an arbitration award in front of an Austrian state…

Banking and Finance

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Financial markets participants traditionally opt for the jurisdiction of the sophisticated English or New York courts to resolve disputes arising out of complex financial transactions. However, the globalization of financial markets and the increasing involvement of parties from emerging market jurisdictions in particular, concurrently with the recent financial depression, have caused stakeholders to seek alternative…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Belgium, Multiple parties

(DMDB Law)/ /5 Comments

With regard to multicontract arbitration, the CEPANI Arbitration Rules (“the Rules”) contain a specific provision (Article 10). Article 10(1) allows the parties to pursue claims arising out of different contracts or in connection with more than one contract in one single arbitration. This can occur for example when parties decide to conclude different contracts with…

Arbitration Awards, Domestic law, France, ICC Arbitration, New York Convention, Set aside an international arbitral award, State entity, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a blog earlier this year (see my blog of 12 March 2013), I expressed concerns about a Dubai Court of First Instance ruling (see Case No. 489/2012, ruling of the Dubai Court of First Instance of 18 December 2012) that in complete disregard of the prevailing provisions of the New York Convention (see Convention…

BIT, European Law, European Union, Investment Arbitration

(Taylor Wessing)/ /Leave a comment

Investment arbitration under investment treaties between EU member states is a hot topic, in particular given the EU Commission’s strong views on the subject: As previously discussed here, the Commission has intervened in arbitrations in support of the position that the arbitral tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute. One such matter was Eureko v….

Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Sanctions

(McGowan ADR)/ /Leave a comment

I. Power To Sanction Courts generally enjoy power to enforce procedural rules and orders by various means, such as fines, adverse inferences, cost/fee awards, preclusion of evidence, and even default judgment. Surprisingly, when arbitrators employ such measures, they enter a legal frontier of unsettled law. Why? An arbitrator’s procedural power derives from private contract, not…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Middle East, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

A lot of positive commentary has been lavished out on the new Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC) Arbitration Rules, which entered into force with effect from 1st September 2013. It is, of course, difficult to deny that the new Rules are a huge improvement on the old ADCCAC Regulations, as they were…

Due process, Right to be heard, Set aside an arbitral award, Switzerland

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

In a recent decision of the Swiss First Civil Law Court (X._____ v. Y.______, 4A_669/2012), an arbitral award was annulled on the basis that the arbitrator had violated the appellant’s right to be heard. Although the decision applies Swiss Federal law, the decision is relevant to practitioners in other jurisdictions which allow for annulment of…

Arbitration, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Banking and Finance

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

There has been a historical antipathy of banks towards arbitration. Banks (and other financial institutions) had no incentive or particular advantage to utilize private and quicker dispute resolution methods, such as mediation and arbitration. Well-run banks will normally be in possession of collateral security before money is made available to lenders or other customers and…

Arbitration, Asia-Pacific, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic law, Hong Kong, International arbitration, Legislation, National Arbitration Laws

(Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

Hong Kong is one of the major hubs for international arbitration in Asia. Its position was strengthened when, in 2012, India added Hong Kong to the list of so-called “gazetted” states: only arbitral awards rendered in these states will be recognised and enforced in India under the New York Convention. The inclusion of Hong Kong…

Uncategorized

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /2 Comments

The Republic of Ghana and the Republic of Argentina have moved to terminate an arbitral proceeding currently pending at the Permanent Court of Arbitration Readers of this blog may recall that Argentina initiated arbitration pursuant to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in response to the October 2012 detention in Ghana…

Applicable Law, Arbitral Tribunal, Arbitration Awards, Enforcement, Qatar, Set aside an arbitral award

(Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

A controversial decision by Qatar’s Court of Cassation has ruled on the necessity for arbitral awards to be rendered in the name of His Highness The Emir of Qatar. The said ruling issued on 12 June 2012 (Petition No. 64/2012) set aside an arbitral award rendered under the auspices of the Qatar International Center for…

BIT, ICSID Convention, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules

(LAWIN)/ /1 Comment

and Rapolas Kasparavičius, LAWIN An abundant number of agreements have been and will be concluded between states and investors operating under the bilateral investment regime and even a larger number of negotiations will fail before reaching the final stage of signature. An investor may spend large sums of money with the aim of concluding an…

Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Enforcement, Provisional measures

(AstapovLawyers)/ /1 Comment

and Ievgen Boiarskyi, Junior Associate at AstapovLawyers It is widely accepted that successful outcome of international commercial arbitration proceedings often depends on timely obtained provisional measures designed to protect either the lawful interests of the parties or property in dispute until the final arbitral award on the merits is issued. Although provisional measures may be…

Arbitration

(Kluwer Law International)/ /Leave a comment

Wolters Kluwer’s inaugural Kluwer Arbitration User Forum was appropriately held in the heart of legal London at the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC), 70 Fleet Street on Tuesday. Attended by librarians, knowledge managers, PSLs, associates, partners and academics alike, the three-hour session proved to be a hit. “Very informative and thought-provoking”, said Nicholas Fletcher, Head…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Middle East, United Arab Emirates

(Mechantaf Law)/ /Leave a comment

On 27 August 2013, the Abu Dhabi Centre for Conciliation and Commercial Arbitration (the “Centre”), based in Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presented its new list of arbitration rules (the “Rules”) effective as of 1st October 2013, following an extension of one month from the date that was initially perceived under the Rules…

Costs, Costs in arbitral proceedings, ICSID Convention, International arbitration, Legal Practice, Set aside an arbitral award, Set aside an international arbitral award, Uncategorized

(B. Cremades y Asociados)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

It is not uncommon to see the losing party of an ICSID arbitration filing a frivolous request for annulment merely to engage the opposing party in settlement negotiations. Another frequent abuse of ICSID’s annulment mechanism is to attempt to re-litigate the merits at the annulment stage. An annulment proceeding under the ICSID Rules typically takes…

Arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Multiple parties, Piercing the Corporate Veil, Supreme Court, Third Party

(Gide Loyrette Nouel)/ /Leave a comment

and Benjamin Ainsley Gill When seeking to extend an arbitration clause to a third party who is not a signatory to the clause, common law practitioners will often have resort to an argument that the corporate veil should be pierced – in other words, that the court or tribunal should disregard the separate legal identity…

Arbitration

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

The applications for the Brandon Research Fellowship funded by Mr Michael Brandon (1923 – 2012) are open until 23 September 2013. The Fellowship supports research on topics of public or private international law or international arbitration, at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. The Brandon Fellow will be awarded £3,000…