Applicable Law, Governing Law, Lex Arbitri, lex contractus, Lex Fori, Limitation period, Place of arbitration, Procedure, Seat of the arbitration, Substantive Law

(Francis Burt Chambers)/ /Leave a comment

This two-part blog post discusses applicable limitation laws, i.e., legislation purporting to limit the time period within which claims in international commercial arbitration proceedings must be commenced (Limitation laws). It raises questions regarding how arbitral tribunals ought to decide whether to apply such Limitation laws and whether attempts to classify them as matters of ‘substance’…

Code of Conduct, Institutional Arbitration, International Commercial Arbitration

(Equanimity Arbitration) and (Nayiri Boghossian FZE)/ /1 Comment

As the pool of international arbitrators has grown, and continues to grow, acting as an arbitrator is now seen more as a career path as opposed to a retirement plan. In fact, we can now confidently say that a profession of arbitrators exists. With this, the identity of a typical arbitrator has significantly changed, and the…

Competence-Competence, England, English Arbitration Act, Jurisdiction

(Khan Saifur Rahman & Associates)/ /Leave a comment

The UK Law Commission recently proposed drastic reform to section 67 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 that deals with the challenge of an award on the ground of lack of substantive jurisdiction in an English seated arbitration. The Law Commission’s First Consultation Paper published in September 2022 initially recommended the challenge under section 67…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox, Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes

(University of Cambridge)/ /Leave a comment

An unsteady camera lens captures figures enshrouded in the flickering semi-darkness of the room. Men in suits whisper in Spanish over a heavy wooden table. The Equatorian judge, his face captured by the concealed camera, stands up, signalling acceptance of the proposition: his decision for a $3 million bribe. This scene was forever etched into…

Arbitration institution, International Law, State Responsibility, Turkey

(Akbaba Legal)/ /1 Comment

The Istanbul Arbitration Centre’s (the Centre) inception, driven by the Turkish Government’s ambition to elevate Istanbul as a global financial centre, presents a compelling case for legal scrutiny. This blog post seeks to unravel the intricate web of legal complexities surrounding the Centre’s statutory foundation, organisational structure, and financial framework, alongside the potential attribution of…

Advocacy, Arbitration, Arbitrator Selection, Arbitrators, Australia, Culture, Evidence, Witness

, , (King & Wood Mallesons)/ /Leave a comment
ACICA 45

The rapid growth of international arbitration in the Asia-Pacific has sparked many discussions about how different cultural practices and legal traditions impact advocacy in cross-border disputes (see, for example, Global Arbitration Review’s The Guide to Advocacy). On 3 August 2023, ACICA45 and King & Wood Mallesons in Sydney hosted a session titled “Clash of Cultures…

Artificial Intelligence, Asia-Pacific, Energy Dispute, Insolvency, Intellectual Property, Northeast Asia, SIAC, SIAC Symposium 2023, Southeast Asia, Technology, Trade

, and (Nishimura & Asahi)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

Following the morning session which explored the geopolitics of international arbitration, the next generation of dispute resolution and the freshly-minted draft SIAC Rules (see Part 1), the afternoon session probed into regional and topical dimensions of international arbitration through six technologically-driven and interactive panel discussions.   I. Regional Developments, Trends & Forecasts   Illuminating Top…

Appointment of arbitrators, Asia-Pacific, Climate change, Court Assistance, Expedited arbitration, Expedited Proceedings, Insolvency, Institutional Rules, Investor-State arbitration, Northeast Asia, SIAC, SIAC Symposium 2023, Singapore, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Southeast Asia, Technology

(Sidley Austin LLP) and (Allen & Overy LLP)/ /Leave a comment
YSIAC

The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) held the SIAC Symposium, its flagship conference, during the Singapore Convention Week on 28 August 2023. The SIAC Symposium featured a conversation with Minister K Shanmugam, SC (Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Singapore) and a plenary address by Justice Judith Prakash (Justice of the Court of…

Arbitration Agreement, China, Separability

(Anjie Broad Law Firm (Xiamen Office)) and (China University of Political Science and Law)/ /Leave a comment
CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center

In 2010, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (the “SPC”) issued the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Case Guidance (the “Provisions”). The Provisions are widely considered to establish a unique case guidance system in China, under which courts at all levels should refer to the selected guiding cases when…

ACICA, Arbitration, Arbitrators, Australia, Diversity, Public Interest

(Ashurst)/ /Leave a comment
ACICA

Efforts to promote diversity in arbitration continue to garner awareness and support from arbitral institutions, legal practitioners, experts, and the arbitration community in general (see e.g., here and here). Unconscious bias is a significant barrier to achieving greater diversity and can hinder opportunities, progression, and careers. It is often tricky to address because, as its…

Choice of Law, Conflict of Laws, Dispute Resolution, Enforcement

, (Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement)/ /Leave a comment

On 24 March 2023, the Metaverse Dispute Resolution Colloquium was organised by the Digital Law Center (University of Geneva), the Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS) and MetaverseLegal to explore selected legal issues arising from disputes in/about the metaverse. Previous contributions to this blog have explored metaverse-related issues here. After the introductory remarks by…

New York Convention, Timor-Leste

(Clifford Chance)/ /Leave a comment

On 17 January 2023, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (“Timor-Leste”) became the 172nd country to accede to the United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the “New York Convention”)1)United Nations, Timor-Leste accedes to Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/pressrels/2023/unisl339.html.. Thereafter, in accordance with the convention’s…

Annulment, Brazil, Brazilian Arbitration Act, Dissenting opinions, Latin America

(Wilmer Hale ) and (King & Spalding )/ /2 Comments

The São Paulo Court of Appeals (“TJSP or “Court”) recently annulled a quantum arbitral award and referred the case back to the arbitral tribunal because one of the three arbitrators had failed to issue a dissenting opinion. The Court held that the co-arbitrator’s abstention amounted to a failure in the part of the arbitral tribunal…

Appointing Authority, Case Management, Latin America, Permanent Court of Arbitration

(Altra Legal)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

On July 26, 2023, the Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB) organized a webinar on New Developments of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). The discussion was introduced by Claus von Wobeser (Von Wobeser y Sierra, México) and led by Sandra González (Ferrere, Uruguay) and Juan Manuel Marchán (PBP, Ecuador), who posed several topics that were…

Hungary, New York Convention, Set aside an arbitral award, UNCITRAL Model Law

(SMARTLEGAL Schmidt & Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Making an awkward legislative step, the Hungarian legislator introduced a new ground for annulling construction arbitration awards from 5 June 2023, which applies where arbitrators fail to deliberate the opinion of a domestic expert body. While many commentators have criticised this amendment because of its potential retroactive effect and its disharmony with the current international…

Brazil, Brazilian Arbitration Act, Duty to Disclose, Duty to investigate, Impartiality, Independence, Independence and Impartiality, Latin America

, (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

It is undisputed that arbitration depends on the trust placed by the parties in the arbitrators. The Brazilian Arbitration Act (the “BAA”) reaffirms this principle when it provides that an individual may only act as an arbitrator if he/she “is trusted by the parties” (BAA, Article 13) and when it puts the burden to disclose…

Arbitration Act, Arbitration Reform, Arbitration Rules, Caribbean, Trinidad & Tobago

, (Linklaters)/ /Leave a comment

On 11 July 2023, Trinidad and Tobago (“T&T”) enacted the Arbitration Act 2023 (the “Act”) to significantly modernise the domestic and international arbitration legal framework of the country. The Act repeals the Arbitration Act, Chap. 5:01 (the “Former Arbitration Act”) dating back to 1939, that was based on the 1889 and 1934 British arbitration laws,…

Advance on Costs, DIAC, Dubai, Jurisdiction, United Arab Emirates

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

In a recent ruling of 8 June 2023 in Case No. 1514 of 2022, the Dubai Court of Cassation has taken a fresh look at a number of procedural questions that frequently arise in UAE-seated arbitrations under the 2018 UAE Federal Arbitration Law (“FAL”). There are three particular issues stemming from this recent ruling of…

Arbitration Act, Legislation, Legislative amendment, Nigeria

(Broderick Bozimo and Company)/ /Leave a comment

In May 2023, Nigeria’s Arbitration and Mediation Act (AMA) was enacted. It replaced the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988 with a modernised version that aligns with the 2006 UNCITRAL Model Law. Among its salient features is the Award Review Tribunal (ART) mechanism, outlined in Section 56. This distinctive, innovative procedural offers an alternative to traditional…

ITA Arbitration Report

(Notre Dame Law School), (Stockholm University), and / /Leave a comment

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 available at KluwerArbitration.com delivering timely reports on awards, cases, legislation and current developments from over 60 countries and 12 institutions. To get your free subscription to the ITA…

Climate change, COP 26, Paris Agreement, Sustainability, Sustainable economy

, , (King & Wood Mallesons)/ /1 Comment

The shift from a carbon-intensive economic model to a net-zero economy by 2050 will result in an increasingly significant role for carbon markets. A proliferation of business activities in the carbon trading space will require seismic regulatory change across global jurisdictions. In this evolving landscape, common issues have begun to emerge including: the practical and…

Belgium

(Hanotiau & van den Berg) and (Hanotiau & van den Berg / KU Leuven)/ /Leave a comment

In a decision rendered on 7 April 2023 in the Thibelo case, the Belgian Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation/Hof van Cassatie) ruled that disputes about the termination of exclusive distribution agreements can be settled through arbitration, even where such an agreement is governed by foreign substantive law, regardless of whether such foreign law offers similar protection…

Colombia, Construction, Damages, Energy, Latin America, Risk Management

(Universidad del Norte) and (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

On June 7, 2023, an ICC tribunal issued an award that will redefine risk allocation in the construction industry. The arbitration was initiated by Refinería de Cartagena S.A.S. (“Reficar”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecopetrol S.A., which is in turn owned by the Republic of Colombia, against Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV., CB&I UK…

Soft Law Instruments, UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, Uniformity

(Brödermann Jahn)/ /Leave a comment

The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (“UNIDROIT”), itself set up in 1926 as an off-spin of the League of Nations, has compiled and developed since 1970 a soft law tool, i.e. the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (“UNIDROIT Principles”). Three decades since their first release in 1994, the UNIDROIT Principles have played…