The Permanent Court of Arbitration has just updated its website so as to offer information about the pending arbitration initiated by the Philippines against China pursuant to Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Readers may recall that the Philippines requested arbitration in January of this year, citing a…
Contracting with States or State-controlled/assimilated entities is, and has always been, tricky, especially when a dispute arises between the (private) party or investor and the State or State-controlled/assimilated entity. An increasingly common problem is the attempt by the State to raise sovereign immunity from execution/enforcement to avoid enforcement of an arbitral award (and or judgment)…
and Oleg Temnikov Foreword The tribunal in Mesa Power Group, LLC v. Canada (PCA Case No. 2012-17, Procedural Order No. 2, 18 January 2013) recently stated with regard to bifurcation of proceedings that: “[I]t is good… to let the parties ‘know where they stand’… at an early stage and not to impose the burden of…
Negotiations to establish a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement have been active and ambitious. Following 18 negotiating rounds since 2010, TPP talks now include 12 States, representing nearly 40 percent of global GDP. Scholars have observed that a TPP agreement, given its scale, could provide “staggering” economic benefits as well as a “genuine Asia-Pacific integration track.”…
A prize has been established by the Society of International Economic Law and Cambridge University Press for the best essay submitted on any topic in any field of international economic law. The competition is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students of any university or other tertiary education institution, and those who have graduated…
Introduction Unable to make this year’s ASA Conference I accepted the invitation to submit a brief paper which I entitled: “Six Modest Proposals Before You Get to the Award”. A principal theme was Tribunal logistics and attention. I was happy to receive some positive feedback and have given this theme more thought. Arguably I have…
The new arbitration rules of CEPANI (The Belgian Center for Arbitration and Mediation) came into force on 1 January 2013 and change the 2005 rules considerably. They will soon be studied and applied around the globe as they will be the applicable rules for the 21st Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (2014). The…
and Afolabi Euba and Hamid Abdulkareem, Aluko & Oyebode, Lagos, Nigeria In the course of 2012, a number of injunctions have been issued by Nigerian courts to stop arbitrations commenced by international oil companies against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). One of such orders was made ex parte by the Nigerian Federal High Court…
The Supreme Court of India handed down a judgment earlier this month that restates Indian position on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in line with the international standards. In the case of Shri Lal Mahal Ltd. v. Progetto Grano Spa, a three judge bench of the apex court held that review of a foreign…
“The Gang of Four” (and I’m not making this up) is the name taken by four of Europe’s leading arbitration institutions to describe their loose affiliation for discussing common issues and sharing best practices. The “Gang” consists of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), the Milan Chamber of Arbitration, the Arbitration Institution of the Stockholm…
Because international investment law so often involves the application of treaties, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties plays a key role in structuring its application. Of particular interest for many disputes are the rules of treaty interpretation contained in Articles 31, 32, and 33 of the VCLT. In that context, there are some…
For arbitration geeks, the beach is a challenge – How can you indulge your passion for international arbitration, without (further) outing yourself as a work-alcoholic without a life? I probably can’t help you much, in that category, but one possibility, with two sub-parts, comes to mind. Arbitration history lets you stay focussed on your one…
On 11 July 2013, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) adopted new Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (the “Transparency Rules”), which will come into effect from 1 April 2014. The new rules provide for public access to documents generated during treaty-based investor-state arbitrations (but not commercial arbitrations) brought under the…
and Humberto Sáenz-Marinero, Sáenz & Asociados A few weeks ago, we read a post on Kluwer Arbitration Blog about El Salvador by Ricardo Cevallos. The title was “El Salvador becomes an anti-arbitration jurisdiction?” According to the post, El Salvador is becoming an anti-arbitration jurisdiction. We respectfully disagree with the author’s conclusion. It is true that,…
Following on from my recent post, I’m delighted to share the agenda for our inaugural Kluwer Arbitration User Forum, which takes place in London on Tuesday 10th September. This FREE half-day (morning) User Forum is for all London-based Kluwer Arbitration subscribers. So, if you are a Kluwer Arbitration user reading this and thinking “is this…
In a recent decision, the Mauritian Supreme Court has roundly rejected a challenge to an arbitrator’s jurisdiction brought under section 20 of the Mauritian International Arbitration Act 2008, and in doing so touched upon the interesting question of the standard of review in such cases. Section 20 of the International Arbitration Act 2008 (“IAA”) allows…
By Maxi Scherer and Sophia Lange1)Maxi Scherer is Special Counsel in the International Arbitration Practice Group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University London; Sophia Lange is an Associate in the International Arbitration Practice Group of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. On 26 September 2012,…
By Jelita Pandjaitan and Steven Pettigrove of Linklaters, and Nicola Nygh of Allens Linklaters. On 15 July 2013, Myanmar formally acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”). The New York Convention obliges Myanmar’s Courts to give effect to contractual provisions which provide for…
There are many uncertainties in relation to the proper behavior of counsel in arbitration, in particular, in terms of avoiding conflicts of interest, identifying minimum ethical standards, and the overriding question of tribunal control. These uncertainties arise for two main reasons. The first is the lack of consensus as to whether arbitrators have powers of…
by James Menz and Anya George, Schellenberg Wittmer The (proper) use of administrative secretaries is a recurring topic in the arbitration community. The debate has flared up again in recent months, following the issuance, in August 2012, of the ICC Secretariat’s new Note on the Appointment, Duties, and Remuneration of Administrative Secretaries and, a few…
On 16 May 2013, Belgium’s House of Representatives adopted the bill no. 53-2743 that is meant to replace the Sixth Part of the Belgian Code of Civil Procedure (Code judiciaire/Gerechtelijk Wetboek) and thoroughly modernize the Belgian arbitration law. The travaux préparatoires leading to this new law may be consulted here (in French and Dutch). The…
Foreword For centuries people have searched for the formula which may give them more gold. It may turn out that some investors have found it. As it will be explained, indirect investments through a chain of intermediary companies hides the risk of multiplication of claims and double recovery. But not according to the tribunal in…
Readers of this blog may be interested to know of an opportunity to participate in the creation of a forthcoming special issue of Transnational Dispute Management (TDM), entitled “Reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: In Search of A Roadmap.” Co-edited by myself (Arnold & Porter LLP and Georgetown University Law Center) and Anna Joubin-Bret (Cabinet Joubin-Bret…
[Written with the assistance of Nina Tandon and Andrew Behrman of Hogan Lovells US LLP] A recent ruling from a U.S. federal district court has highlighted an emerging doctrine in United States courts with respect to a party’s ability to seek provisional remedies from a court in support of international arbitration. The recent ruling, together…
