In this issue, Professor Doug Jones and Robert Turnbull examine, and indeed question, the efficiency of the current practice of witness statements. As they explain, witness statements have become a ‘vehicle for the making of legal submissions’ commending, and at times speculating, on every matter which is implicated in a dispute, including third parties’ conduct….

On 13 September 2022, the long-awaited text of the modernised Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was published. Still subject to final agreement, this is the text that reflects the Agreement in Principle reached by the parties to the Treaty in June this year after more than three years and 15 rounds of negotiations. Modernisation has several…

Introduction The second day of the Asia ADR Week 2022 kicked off with a panel discussion on Rechartering a Modern Legislative Framework with Mr Abang Iwawan (Abang & Co.) as moderator. Mr Iwawan was joined by Ms Karen Ng Gek Suan (Karen, Mak & Partners), Mr Rajendra Navaratnam (Azman Davidson & Co.), Mr Foo Joon…

On Thursday, 6th October 2022, the Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC”) kickstarted its first-ever hybrid Asia ADR Week conference, themed Compassus: The Odyssean Course to the Modern ADR with a session titled Here Comes Sparta – The Impact of Armed Conflicts on International Arbitrations. The insightful discussion was moderated by Dr Ana Maria Daza-Clark (University…

On 30 June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR” or “the Court”) delivered its judgment in BTS Holding, a.s. v. Slovakia (“BTS”), a case concerning the non-enforcement in Slovakia of a Paris-seated ICC commercial arbitration award.  Although there is nothing particularly ground-breaking in the Court’s key findings, the judgment has caught the attention…

This contribution comments on growing global trends in climate change and the important role arbitration can play in the settlement of this type of dispute, specifically in the future dispute resolution landscape in Latin America. In June 2022, the Center for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change…

The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), a networking and business support organisation that caters to the London business community, launched the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM) in May 2020. I wrote at the time a post exploring the LCAM’s inaugural Arbitration Rules and examining some aspects of the LCAM as an institution. The last two…

The theme of this year’s sold out 17th ICC New York Conference on International Arbitration was “Building Resilience”, and resilience was on full display as the North America arbitration community arrived at the offices of conference host Hogan Lovells on Madison Avenue, the first fully in-person ICC New York conference since the pandemic. Oliver “Ollie”…

This post continues the coverage of the 17th ICC New York Conference on International Arbitration that is available in Part 1.   Reimagining Supply Chain Agreements and Dispute Resolution Practices to Better Manage Uncertainty With supply chain disruptions aplenty (think Russia–Ukraine conflict, Suez Canal blockage, record inflation and raw material shortages, let alone the COVID-19…

Designed by the United States (“U.S.”) government to enhance the success of its primary sanctions programs, secondary sanctions are intended to prevent, on a global basis, third parties from trading with countries that are subject to sanctions. In a dispute involving the transfer of U.S. dollars between two non-U.S. persons located outside U.S. jurisdiction, these U.S. secondary…

On August 5, 2022, the Tribunal hearing the Bacilio Amorrortu v. The Republic of Peru case issued its Partial Award on Jurisdiction, upholding the State’s objection that Mr. Amorrortu did not provide a valid waiver as required by the “No U-Turn Clause” established in article 10.18.2 of the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement…

The first Colombian Arbitration Week was launched last week in Bogotá. The closing event comprised a panel discussing new challenges and perspectives of arbitration in Colombia. The discussion was moderated by Anne Mürrle (Partner, Mürrle Asesores) with the following panelists Cristina Mejía (Partner, Baker McKenzie), José Miguel Mendoza (Partner, DLA Piper), David Araque (Partner, Gómez…

In the first edition of the Colombian Arbitration Week, the first panel discussed international arbitration in the context of the changing political situation in Latin America. This panel addressed, among other issues, the constitutionalization of arbitration and the impact of new governments in the region on arbitration matters.   Constitutionalization of arbitration and the existence…

Since 2006, the Bolivian State adopted a policy of “recovery” of resources and entities that were considered as ‘strategic’ by the State.  Multiple investment arbitration proceedings against Bolivia were initiated as a consequence of the expropriation measures derived from the execution of this policy. To this date, the main claim in each of these cases…

On the morning of Friday 16 September 2022, to the sound of the Star Wars theme, the first edition of the Future of Technology in Arbitration 2022 conference, a.k.a. FOTA22, officially began. Delving into many interesting topics, the organizers ensured plenty of opportunities for the participants to have an active say in what was being…

“Dear Arbitrator, This is your hacker. You do not know me, but I already know you quite well. I am silently waiting for my opportunity to simply click and collapse your notebook. I have nothing against you; it is simply that you are a keeper of gold: DATA. And not any type of data; it…

International Law Talk is a series of podcasts through which Wolters Kluwer provides the latest news and industry insights from thought leaders and experts in the fields of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law and Competition Law. Here at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, we highlight the podcasts focused on international arbitration. In this latest episode,…

As the Crypto Winter’s chilling effect continues to be felt across the crypto sector, with crypto assets having declined in value by approximately US$ 2 trillion since their 2021 peak, international arbitrations over disputes related to crypto assets (“Crypto Arbitrations”) look set to multiply in 2022. This post provides an introduction to the types of…

Poland surprised the world when on 25 August 2022 the Government submitted to the Polish Parliament a draft law authorizing the President of Poland to terminate the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects. The idea of Poland terminating the ECT had not been floated in the…

The dispute resolution landscape in Japan is almost unrecognisable from the position 20 years ago.  In that time, Japan has evolved into a significant market for cross-border contentious legal matters.  Sophisticated Japanese corporations with significant overseas business are comfortable using international arbitration and mediation as methods of dispute resolution. 86% of the case load of…

After a gala evening at the National Museum of Scotland filled with Scottish gastronomy and ceilidh dancing, delegates returned to the conference centre for the last day of the ICCA Congress. Renaissance Arbitrator This panel asked: “what can lawyers and arbitrators learn from disciplines outside the law and arbitration?”. That question is particularly timely as…

The second day of the ICCA Congress took place on Tuesday, September 20. Delegates gathered in the morning for the presentation of the inaugural ICCA Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez Memorial Prize, established in honour of former ICCA Governing Board Member Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez. Professor Stefano Azzali said a few words on the life and career of Guillermo, fondly…

The first full day of the ICCA Congress took place on Monday, September 19. Delegates gathered early in the morning for a keynote speech by Louise Arbour, former Canadian diplomat, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, High Commissioner for Refugees, Chief Prosecutor for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals and current Senior Counsel at BLG….

After a long, pandemic-induced delay, the ICCA Congress in Edinburgh is now in full swing.  Six and a half long years after winning the bid to host the XXVth ICCA Congress, I had almost forgotten why we, the Scottish Arbitration Centre, had made the bid in the first place, but as the international arbitration community…