On March 21, 2018, the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA“) was adopted. It came into force on 30 May 2019. 54 African Union (“AU“) Member States have signed it, and 46 have ratified it. The AfCFTA aims to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion and…
Can an arbitration agreement be binding on a party that did not sign it? Generally, an arbitration agreement only binds its signatories. This is a transnational principle, also anchored in the German Constitution. There are, however, widely accepted exceptions. This article examines the extension of arbitration agreements to third parties under the requirements of Sec. 25(1)…
The inaugural Vietnam ADR Week (“VAW”) took place in Ho Chi Minh City from 9 to 12 May 2023. As a sponsor of VAW, Vietnamese law firm, YKVN, organized a discussion panel on 10 May 2023 on a comparative analysis of the approaches taken by various national courts towards the governing law of the arbitration…
Arbitration can be defined as a dispute resolution mechanism by which parties submit their case to a specifically chosen decision-maker to render a binding decision. Arbitration is a consensual procedure and can only be initiated if parties have agreed to do so. As most arbitration laws, the Brazilian Arbitration Act (“BAA”) provides for the enforceability…
The inaugural Vietnam ADR Week (“VAW”) took place in Ho Chi Minh City from 9 to 12 May 2023. As a sponsor of VAW, Vietnamese law firm YKVN organized a discussion panel on 10 May 2023 on a comparison of the interplay of the separability doctrine and questions relating to formation and validity of arbitration…
In 2019, a blog post discussed the push in Kyrgyzstan towards expanding the scope of arbitrable disputes. This trend has continued with the recent Tax Code reform, which allows tax disputes to be arbitrated in the country from 1 January 2023 onward. This development reflects the Kyrgyzstan government’s ongoing efforts to rectify shortcomings in its…
Wolters Kluwer is very sad to learn about the passing of Prof. Eric Bergsten. Eric, as the founder and long-time organizer of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (Vienna Moot), hugely inspired more than a generation of young arbitration lawyers and we cannot thank him enough for his contributions to the arbitration community….
A pioneer in the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE region), the Permanent Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCAC) signed a partnership agreement with the Paris-based legal-tech start-up, Jus Mundi, allowing for the online accessibility of anonymized Hungarian arbitral decisions in English. Since the issue of publication of…
The German Federal Ministry of Justice published a White Paper on the Modernization of German Arbitration Law (unofficially translated by the DIS) on 18 April 2023. Its primary goal is to adapt the law to today’s needs to enhance its efficiency and strengthen Germany’s attractiveness as an arbitration venue. This post details the twelve issues…
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in IP cross-border disputes, including in non-traditional sectors. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (“KCAB”), which is the sole arbitral institution in Korea that is statutorily authorized to settle disputes under the Korean Arbitration Act, has experienced a gradual increase in IP-related cases. This article aims to…
The French Supreme Court (“Cour de cassation”) has ruled (1st February 2023, No. 21-25.024) that the breach of a mediation clause is not a matter of jurisdiction and as such cannot lead to the annulment of an award in which a tribunal has retained its jurisdiction, even though the mediation process has not been implemented…
On the eve of this year’s Tashkent Law Spring Forum, ICC YAAF, together with My Lawyer Law Firm and Dentons LLP, coordinated an event hosted by the Tashkent office of Dentons on Arbitration Developments in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian States. The event featured insights by practitioners and stakeholders on the Central Asian market for…
On June 30, 2020, an era of international investment law and dispute resolution came to an end as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concluded its 27-year tenure with the entry into force of United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA). Three years later, a further milestone is now marked: today, Canada, which…
On 22 June 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion in the combined cases of Yegiazaryan v. Smagin et al. and CMB Monaco v. Smagin et al., Case Nos. 22-381 & 22-383 (U.S.). The case resolves divergent lower appellate rulings in the United States over whether a non-U.S. domiciliary may sustain a…
On an exceptionally sunny day in Vancouver, Canada, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC) and International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) hosted a joint conference entitled “Energy Infrastructure Disputes and Arbitration: Today and Tomorrow”. The one-day conference kicked off with a traditional welcome by Wilson Williams (Sxwíxwtn) of the Squamish Nation on June 2, 2023. After…
During the first days of June, the scenic Canadian city of Vancouver hosted several events of interest to the arbitration community. The biggest of these was the June 2 joint conference organized by the Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (“VanIAC”) and the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (“ICCA”), which will be discussed in a separate blog…
Last month, Pakistan International Disputes Weekend 2023 (PIDW 2023) brought to the fore important discussions on international dispute resolution, to support restructuring access to justice and improvement of the rule of law index in Pakistan. This post recaps the discussions on Day 2 of PIDW 2023, whilst yesterday’s post highlighted the key points from Day…
Last month, the historically prominent city of Lahore, placed itself on the map among other global hotspots for international dispute resolution-focused events, Pakistan International Disputes Weekend 2023 (PIDW 2023) co-hosted by Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Pakistan Branch, MK Consultus LLP and TCC ADR Center was held on 20 and 21 May 2023 at the Pearl…
Knowledge and information with respect to international dispute resolution processes are mostly limited to our own experiences, the jurisdictions we operate in, or the cases we deal with in various roles; the rest is anecdotal evidence. But what are the preferences of the users and what are their experiences like globally? Do the international dispute…
Nigeria’s 35-year-old Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988 (the “Old Act”) was finally repealed and replaced by the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 (the “New Act”) following presidential assent on 26 May 2023. The New Act, which is based on the revised UNCITRAL Model Law adopted in 2006 and the result of years of reform effort,…
On May 9, 2023, the Arbitration Channel, a pioneer Brazilian institution in the dissemination and promotion of arbitration internationally, held the XVII Rio de Janeiro International Arbitration Conference (“Rio Arbitration Conference” or “Congress”), curated by João Bosco Lee (Lee Taube Gabardo Sociedade de Advogados, Partner) Lauro Gama (Lauro Gama Advogados Associados, Partner) and Maurício Almeida…
In general, arbitration laws do not make express provision for rules of evidence and institutional rules largely leave it to the arbitral tribunal to determine matters of evidence. It might, therefore, be thought uncontroversial to state that strict rules of evidence do not apply in arbitration proceedings. But while most practitioners would concede that arbitration…
The Editorial Board of Kluwer Arbitration Blog announces the opening of the following position with Kluwer Arbitration Blog: Assistant Editor for Africa. The Assistant Editor reports directly to the coordinating Associate Editor and is expected to (1) collect, edit and review guest submissions from the designated region for posting on the Blog, while actively being involved…
On May 22, 2023, Young ICSID’s first “Advocacy Skills Training: Making an Effective Opening and Closing Statement” took place. It was opened by Celeste E. Salinas Quero and featured Klaus Reichert SC and Donald E. Vinson, Ph.D., who are authors of “Arbitration: The Art & Science of Persuasion”. The two-hour training, held both online and…
