Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Domestic Courts, North America

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

As international arbitration becomes ever more sophisticated and complex, one wonders whether it will continue to have the institutional capacity to address its protean tasks. Claims in the billions of dollars are now common. Thousands of individuals are affected by the outcome of a single arbitration decision. And the complexity of the cases is such…

Other Issues

(von Segesser Law Offices)/ /Leave a comment

Under the applicable Swiss law, fees and charges arising in connection with the exercise of functions of arbitration are exempted from VAT. Specifically, the respective section of Article 23(1) of the Swiss Federal Act of 2 Sept. 1999 on Value Added Tax (“VATL”) reads as follows: “[…] For services which they perform in sovereign right,…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, Legal Practice, National Arbitration Laws, North America

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

Addressing an issue of first impression, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held that, notwithstanding a prior-filed lawsuit in Australia, the doctrine of international abstention did not prevent a federal court from deciding a motion to compel arbitration under Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act. Answers in Genesis of…

South America

(Lee Taube Gabardo; Editor in Chief, Brazilian Arbitration Journal)/ /4 Comments

Dear all, As you know, arbitration in Brazil has become a reality. After several decades of being considered as the last frontier of international arbitration in Latin America, Brazil is now one the most important country in the practice of arbitration on this continent. The last years’ ICC International Arbitration Court statistics show the influential…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YIAG

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) has recently proposed the inclusion of an “Emergency Arbitrator” procedure in the SCC Rules (see Draft New Rules with Notes). On 18 June 2009, the drafting committee for the Emergency Arbitrator proposal presented the main amendments gathered from the comments of the arbitration community to…

Investment Arbitration, North America, Public Policy

(Crowell & Moring LLP)/ /1 Comment
American Society of International Law (ASIL)

On May 4, 2009, the Obama administration proposed far-reaching measures designed to curb the tax benefits enjoyed by U.S.-based multinational corporations with offshore operations. Based on 2004 figures, those corporations are said to enjoy an effective tax rate of about 2.3% on their foreign revenue. The measures seek to end the practice of U.S. multinationals…

Arbitration Agreements, Europe, Investment Arbitration

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)/ /Leave a comment
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Conference: Fifty Years of Bilateral Investment Treaties December 1-3, 2009, Frankfurt Fifty years ago, Germany and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan concluded the first ever bilateral investment treaty. To mark (and celebrate) this important milestone in the development of investment protection, the German Society for the Promotion of Foreign Investments (GFA) and the German Federal…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia-Pacific, Commercial Arbitration

(Fulbright & Jaworski LLP)/ /1 Comment
YIAG

In a judgment dated June 2, 2009, the Singapore Court of Appeal has upheld a “hybrid” arbitration clause which provided that all disputes should be resolved “by arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce”. In the case of Insigma Technology Co Ltd…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, Other Issues

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White & Case

One of the greatest challenges for international arbitration in recent times is the users’ complaint that the process has become too costly. In-house counsel are under pressure to control costs, and they grumble that arbitrators and international arbitration counsel are not sufficiently responsive to their concerns. Outside counsel are rightly troubled by these complaints. Frustrating…

Arbitration Agreements, Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts, European Law, Jurisdiction, Lis Pendens

(Fulbright & Jaworski LLP)/ /1 Comment
YIAG

In the recent decision in Youell v La Reunion Aerienne [2009] EWCA Civ 175 the English Court of Appeal applied the ECJ decision in West Tankers and upheld a Commercial Court decision holding that the mere fact that a contract contains an arbitration clause does not deprive the court of jurisdiction under the Brussels Regulation….

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Proceedings, Commercial Arbitration, International Courts, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Investment Arbitration, Legal Practice, Public Policy

(Wayne State University)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

How should tribunals apply investment treaties to measures adopted during times of crisis? Recognizing crisis as the point at which foreign investors become most vulnerable (and therefore require the most protection), should tribunals guard against any temptation to dilute the rigor of external discipline? Conversely, recognizing crisis as the point at which states can lay…

Book Review, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Middle East

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Professor Roger Alford’s recent posting, “The Arbitrator as Diplomat”, discusses the role of “diplomatic arbitration,” a concept with a long historical pedigree. Some of that history (and much more) is contained in the late Professor Douglas M. Johnston’s posthumous opus, The Historical Foundations of World Order: The Tower and the Arena (2008). The book was…

Africa, Investment Arbitration

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

In recent months, there have been a steady barrage of media reports about so-called “land grabs”. Many believe that we are seeing a new “Scramble for Africa”, as food-scarce countries and private investors alike jostle to lease or purchase vast swathes of agricultural land abroad. There are multiple drivers for such deals: including the perennial…

Africa, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitrators, Europe, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Legal Practice

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

In submitting his instructions to the American delegation attending the 1907 Second Hague Conference, Secretary of State Elihu Root argued that the Permanent Court of Arbitration system needed radical improvement. In his instructions he wrote: There can be no doubt that the principal objection to arbitration rests, not upon the unwillingness of nations to submit…

Commercial Arbitration, Domestic Courts

(ArbBoutique & Queen Mary University of London)/ /1 Comment

The Swiss Supreme Court recently rendered a decision (4_A428/2008, dated 31 March 2009) regarding the effects of insolvency proceedings on international arbitrations seated in Switzerland. This case concerns a multi-party arbitration conducted under the ICC Rules with its seat in Geneva. One of the co-respondents in the arbitration, a Polish company, informed the tribunal that…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, International Legal Theory and Teaching, UN and Int’l Organizations

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

1. Is Arbitral Jurisprudence anything more than a myth? 2. How does persuasiveness of past awards operate? 3. Is Precedent the product of the intrinsic qualities of one or more particularly well-reasoned awards? 4. Why do arbitral awards need to be available? 5. Why is reliance on arbitral precedents not frequent? 6. Should all awards…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia-Pacific, Other Issues

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

On 1 September 2008, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the “HKIAC”) adopted a new set of arbitration rules, entitled the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules (the “Administered Rules”). In a press release in January 2009, the HKIAC announced that it had already received cases under the Administered Rules. The Administered Rules…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Asia-Pacific, Commercial Arbitration

(White & Case LLP)/ /Leave a comment
White & Case

On 1 May 2009, the new “Online” Arbitration Rules (the “Online Rules”) of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) came into effect. At this stage, it appears that the Online Rules are only available in Chinese. The Online Rules are aimed primarily at e-commerce disputes, although parties are free to agree to…

Investment Arbitration

(Investment Arbitration Reporter)/ /Leave a comment

“A systemic underestimation of the risks associated with bilateral investment treaties”. That’s how Alvaro Galindo put it. Dr. Galindo, is the Ecuadorian lawyer charged with coordinating that country’s defence of a bevy of international arbitration claims. Last week, speaking in his private capacity, he told a conference of the British Institute for International and Comparative…

Arbitration Awards, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Proceedings, Arbitrators, Commercial Arbitration, Disclosure, Europe, North America

(Castaldi Mourre & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

The already much debated Paris Court of appeal judgment in Tecnimont, rendered on 12 February 2009, has put into light the dangers arising from the lack of uniformity in the field of conflict disclosure. The Paris Court of appeal has quashed a partial award because the chairman of the arbitral tribunal, a well-known international arbitrator…

Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

(University of Victoria Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

When does a most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment clause in an investment treaty confer jurisdiction on an investor-state arbitration tribunal? Most readers will be aware that in a series of decisions investment treaty tribunals have given very different responses to this question. On the one hand, a line of decisions suggests that, unless there is a express…

Arbitrators, International Legal Theory and Teaching, Investment Arbitration

(Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

We at Kluwer Arbitration blog are most pleased to welcome Andrew Newcombe as our newest contributor. Andrew teaches commercial, international economic and arbitration law at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada. His research and writing focuses primarily on investment treaty law and arbitration. In 2004, he established investment treaty arbitration, a resource website…