The recently reported investment treaty claim by Singapore-based mining company Zeph Investments (“Zeph”) against Australia appears to be the latest in investor-State dispute claims arising out of climate change-related measures introduced by States. The claim was first disclosed on 10 July 2023 by the Attorney General’s Department of Australia in response to a question on…
The question of the validity of unilateral arbitral appointments in the Indian scenario has risen above the surface yet again. The Delhi High Court recently, in Margo Networks Pvt. Ltd. and Another v Railtel Corporation of India Ltd (“Margo”), reiterated the conflict in the existing legal position and the need for finality on this issue….
On 29 June 2023, the Conference focusing on “Convergence of Arbitration and Litigation“, organized by the German Federal Ministry of Justice (“BMJ”) and the German Arbitration Institute (“DIS”) took place at the Karlsruhe castle. Around 100 attendees from various legal professions and three panels discussed whether the two dispute resolution mechanisms of arbitration and litigation are…
Investment treaty arbitration tribunals have addressed issues surrounding State intervention and States’ regulatory freedom time and time again, consequently creating guiding precedent regarding State conduct that could constitute breaches of the fair and equitable treatment (“FET”) or expropriation standards. However, recently, an investment treaty arbitration tribunal not only had to deal with issues surrounding the…
The 35th Annual ITA Workshop on “Remedies in International Arbitration: Wielding Arbitral Power for Effective Redress” took place in Austin, Texas from 15 to 16 June 2023. Co-chaired by Dr. Diane A. Desierto (Professor, University of Notre Dame Law School), Rachael D. Kent (Partner, WilmerHale, Washington, D.C.), and Thomas Voisin (Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &…
For years, Albania did not have a self-standing arbitration law or even any legislative provisions specifically on arbitration. Until 2013, the Albanian Civil Procedure Code did contain some provisions on arbitration, but these were repealed in 2013. On 6 July 2023, after several years of discussions and drafts, the Albanian Parliament adopted an arbitration law…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Gary B. Born & Sonya Ebermann, A New Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre for Europe With the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court, some Member States of the European Union are creating…
In May 2023, more than thirty members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to the Biden administration, arguing that “[l]arge corporations have weaponized [investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)] to benefit their own interests” and that “the broken ISDS system has time and time again worked in favor of big business interests.” This criticism against ISDS…
Mr. Vu Anh Duong is the Secretary General of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (“VIAC“), which is the leading Vietnamese arbitration and mediation institution. Mr. Duong has contributed significantly to the development of arbitration in Vietnam in various ways; in addition to his role with the VIAC, Mr. Duong has served as a member of various drafting committees dealing…
The recent reform of Italian arbitration law, which went into effect on 28 February 2023, has finally put an end to the historical prohibition for Italian-seated sole arbitrators and arbitral tribunals to grant interim measures. This ban was one of the most atypical features of Italian arbitration law (which is still found only in very…
Ban Jiun Ean is the Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers, the world’s first integrated dispute resolution center in the heart of Singapore. Maxwell Chambers assembled arbitral institutions, service providers, and legal practitioners under the same roof, making the Chamber a one-stop shop for customers in a facility equipped with best-in-class hearing facilities and state-of-the-art supporting…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Jeff Waincymer, ‘Much Ado About . . . The Law of the Arbitration Agreement: Who Wants to Know and for What Legitimate Purpose?’ Common law cases and commentators have debated whether the law…
The Lone Star v. Korea (Lone Star) Award issued on 30 August 2022 is one of the latest investment awards in tax-related investment treaty disputes and the first one in which a tribunal, inter alia, dealt with the application of an anti-tax avoidance substance over form doctrine (SOFD) under a double taxation treaty (DTT). The…
The English High Court’s judgment in Infrastructure Services v Spain is one of the most important developments of the past year in relation to the enforcement of intra-EU investment awards. It arises out of the Luxembourgish and Dutch claimants’ successful ICSID arbitration against Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”), in which the tribunal held…
In response to the shutdown of the WTO Appellate Body in 2019, a subset of WTO Members entered into the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (“MPIA”). The MPIA has been in effect since 30 April 2020. Although it is an “interim” arrangement that will only function as long as the Appellate Body is inoperative, it…
On 25 October 2022, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”) upheld a decision that suspended the filing of a proof of claim in bankruptcy proceedings and, consequently, prevented the plaintiff from participating in the general meeting of creditors (see, Appeal to the SCJ n. 1.774.649, 25 October 2022, Amapari Energia S.A. v. Zamin Amapá…
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of Western Australia (“WA”) Court of Appeal confirmed that courts have the conclusive authority to determine the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals. The Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA) (the “Act”) confers competence upon arbitral tribunals to determine their own jurisdiction. However, courts retain authority to review questions of jurisdiction….
In its decision of 24 April 2023, the Belgian Supreme Court upheld the Brussels Court’s judgment of 17 June 2021 (discussed here), thereby confirming that arbitral secretaries can assist in drafting arbitral awards, provided that the arbitral tribunal is still calling the shots. This post explains how this recent decision (discussed here) reflects the doctrine’s…
In 2023, the ICC International Court of Arbitration (“ICC Court”) celebrated 100 years as the world’s leading arbitral institution. To celebrate this milestone, on 25 May 2023, the ICC Court and the National Committee of Brazil (“ICC Brazil”) organized the First ICC Arbitration Conference in the South of Brazil (“ICC South Conference”). The ICC South…
The Institute of Transnational Arbitration (“ITA”), in collaboration with the ITA Board of Reporters, is happy to inform you that the latest ITA Arbitration Report was published: a free email subscription service is available at KluwerArbitration.com, delivering timely reports on awards, cases, legislation and current developments from over 60 countries and 12 institutions. To get your…
The opening piece of this Issue ‘Challenging Homogeneity in International Arbitration: Towards Greater Diversity and Inclusion in Counsel Teams’ by Eliane Fischer and Roopa Mathews offers an interesting and informative perspective on a widely discussed, yet still not universally well-managed issue of diversity and inclusion in arbitration. ‘Diversity’ and ‘inclusion’, have been in our minds…
This might not be a secret: the Singapore courts recently issued two decisions in June 2023 about confidentiality in the international arbitration context. The first, The Republic of India v Deutsche Telekom AG [2023] SGCA (I) 4 (“India v DT”), concerned the availability of court-ordered confidentiality protections after information about the arbitration (whose confidentiality is…
In a decision of 24 April 2023, the Belgian supreme civil court (“cour de cassation”) dismissed the petition against a judgment of the Brussels court of first instance (“tribunal de première instance”; hereafter the “lower court”) that addressed the question to what extent arbitrators can delegate tasks to arbitral secretaries. The supreme court decision analyzed…
On May 9, 2023, the 4th Panel of Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (“SCJ”) judged the Special Appeal n. 1.988.894-SP (“Appeal”), reported by Minister Maria Isabel Gallotti. The Appeal was proposed by Mapfre Seguros Generales de Colombia S.A. (“Mapfre” or “insurer”) in an indemnification claim filed against LOG Wisdom S.A., Thorco Shipping S.S and Asia…
