A seminar on 10 November 2023 during Australian Arbitration Week discussed “Australia’s engagement in the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) reform process”. My presentation divided successive governments’ approach into three significant eras over the last decade: anti-ISDS (2011-13), case-by-case ISDS (2014-2021), and uncertainty (since 2022). Some uncertainty has dissipated since the seminar. On 14 November 2022,…
According to arbitration historian Derek Roebuck, what practice was widely used during the reign of her majesty Queen Elizabeth I to avoid the involvement of the Crown in disputes? “Arbitrage”, a practice in many ways similar to modern arbitration, and which had its roots in the Norman conquest. “Dunking”, a means of encouraging litigants…
While the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“New York Convention”) has been one of the driving factors behind the success of international arbitration, its provisions have not evolved in parity with technological advancements, leading to concerns that the Convention may not survive the test of technology. One cause for concern…
A slate of recent cases reminded us how important are the doctrines of res judicata and/or collateral estoppel. Put simply, res judicata is known as claim preclusion because a judicial judgment or arbitral award deciding a particular “claim” will be binding on the parties who participated in that proceeding, whereas collateral estoppel is known as…
This year, the arbitration team at SOAS consisting of Emilia Onyema, Steven Finizio and Baiju Vasani in cooperation with the African Legal Support Facility of the African Development Bank, organised and delivered four separate “counsel in arbitration skills-based training” workshops in collaboration with four arbitral centres in Africa: in Lagos (LACIAC), Douala (CMAG), Kigali (KIAC)…
As part of the 2022 Istanbul Arbitration Week (ISTAW) organized from 10 to 14 October 2022, the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC), which is the only energy sector-based arbitration center with its own rules, hosted several panels in relation to energy arbitration at historical Sait Halim Pasha Mansion by the Bosphorus. This post provides a…
As part of the 2022 Istanbul Arbitration Week (ISTAW) organized from 10 to 14 October 2022, the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC) hosted two panels in relation to arbitration developments in Turkey and Istanbul’s place in the world of arbitration, on which this post aims to report (see also our coverage of ISTAW energy-related panels)….
The Commercial Court of Appeals in the City of Buenos Aires recently granted a request for preliminary measures. These measures aimed to obtain the necessary elements to analyze and determine whether the counterparty had breached a stock purchase agreement that included an arbitration clause as the dispute-settlement mechanism. In this post, we discuss whether courts…
The Amsterdam district court has recently refused to order the termination of a London-seated intra-EU investment arbitration against Poland. Whilst the outcome of the judgment is hardly surprising, the decision contains some interesting thoughts on the ‘desirability’ of the Achmea decision. This blog will discuss the current status of Achmea in the case law of…
The Editorial Board of Kluwer Arbitration Blog announces the opening of the following position with Kluwer Arbitration Blog: Assistant Editor for Southeast Asia. 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…
The landmark decision of the UK Supreme Court (the “Court”) handed down in 2021 in the case Kabab-Ji SAL v. Kout Food Group has already attracted considerable attention. Thus far comments focused on the Court’s construction of the New York Convention of 1958. Yet, the decision deserves a second look – which this post aims…
The Republic of China, also known as “Taiwan,” is among the world’s leading economies. In 2021, Taiwan had a gross domestic product of US$ 670 billion, predicted to increase by 6.45% in 2022; by 2026, Taiwan is projected to be the world’s twentieth largest economy. Taiwan was the United States’ eleventh largest trading partner in…
The author presented on this topic at the ACICA/CIArb Future Frontiers Conference, held in Melbourne, Australia on 7 November 2022 during Australian Arbitration Week. This piece elaborates on the presentation that was delivered. In the last decade, as more states have refused to comply with arbitral awards, attempts have been made to seize the assets…
In 2022, environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) is undoubtedly having a moment, from the cover page of the Economist, to new regulatory schemes in the US and in Europe, not to mention being a headline topic for arbitration conferences from Taipei to Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Berlin and Hong Kong. Many reported ESG disputes…
Considering the many ongoing discussions, especially in academia, on the perceived shortcomings, evils and presumable demise of Investor-state Dispute Settlement (ISDS), it is sometimes easy to forget that the system is alive and kicking and we should not be throwing in the towel just yet. Thankfully, last month ICSID published its Annual Report for the…
Among the items on the agenda of the 43rd session of UNCITRAL Working Group III (“WGIII“) was the multilateral instrument on investment reform (the “MIIR“). This instrument is being developed as a mode for delivering the reforms to ISDS that are agreed upon by WGIII. Although the Secretariat was instructed to do further work on…
International Law Weekend (“ILW”), held at Fordham Law School in New York City between October 20-22, 2022, celebrated the centennial anniversary of the American Branch of the International Law Association with a program entitled “The Next 100 Years of International Law.” It brought together a wide variety of engaging panels and events to explore current…
The 100th Annual Meeting of the American Branch of the International Law Association (“ABILA”), known as ABILA’s International Law Weekend (“ILW”), took place in New York City on October 20-22, 2022 and featured more than 30 panels relevant to the theme “The Next 100 Years of International Law.” One recurring theme was the role of…
Recently, the European Commission (EC) and the German Federal Government jointly released a draft decision on clarifications to certain provisions in the Investment Chapter (Chapter 8) of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). More specifically, they have agreed upon (1) a more precise scope of circumstances that may give rise to violations of Article…
On 7 October 2022, the High Court of the Republic of Singapore (“High Court”) delivered a landmark decision on the enforceability of foreign emergency arbitration awards in CVG v CVH. The High Court rejected the enforceability of the emergency award on the ground of procedural irregularity, reinforcing the importance of due process even in cases where…
On 17 April 2022, the president of Turkmenistan signed a law on accession of Turkmenistan to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention” or “Convention”). The Government of Turkmenistan deposited the instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 4 May 2022. In…
One of the highlights of New York Arbitration Week 2022 was “Choosing Wisely: The Challenge of Interim Measures in International Arbitration”—a panel jointly hosted by New York International Arbitration Center (NYIAC) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, New York (CIArb-NY) on November 16, 2022. Departing from the traditional format, the session featured two mock interim…
The 2022 New York Arbitration Week opened on 14 November 2022 with the Joint Colloquium co-organized by AAA-ICDR, ICC, and ICSID. The Colloquium tipped its hat to the Week’s overarching theme “who is in charge?” That is, why and how the objectives and expectations of various parties involved in international arbitration — such as clients,…
Despite the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and constant terror, Ukrainian courts continue to function and deliver justice. Recently, the Supreme Court has adopted a landmark judgment regarding the enforcement of ICSID awards in Ukraine, which is set to change judicial practice going forward. Our colleagues previously highlighted the deficiencies of the Ukrainian court…
