Amicus Curiae, Arbitration, Arbitration Award, empirical data, Empirical Research, Procedure, Transparency, transparency, Transparency in investment arbitrations

(WilmerHale)/ /Leave a comment

On 5 May 2022, Young ITF hosted its launch event, covering a debate on the motion that “[t]his House believes that greater use of Amicus briefs will address the legitimacy crisis that [Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (“ISDS”)] is facing”. The selection of this topic seemed reasonable as the legitimacy crisis of ISDS particularly affects the upcoming generation of…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox, International arbitration, Technology, UNCITRAL

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From 28 March to 1 April 2022, Working Group II of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) held a Colloquium to explore legal issues related to dispute resolution in the digital economy and to identify the scope and nature of possible legislative work. Forty-eight member States, 27 observer States and 57 invited…

Group of Companies Doctrine, India

, (Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.)/ /Leave a comment

The group of companies doctrine in arbitration has always been contentious in India. The doctrine was first recognised by the Indian Supreme Court in Chloro Controls India Private Limited v. Severn Trent Water Purification Inc. (2013) 1 SCC 641 (hereinafter Chloro Controls). Since then, Indian courts have applied the doctrine to bind group companies of…

Court of Arbitration for Sport, Duty of Curiosity, Duty to Disclose, Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland

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In Decision 4A_520/2021 of 4 March 2022, the Swiss Federal Tribunal (“SFT”) was requested to determine whether the chairperson of a panel in proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) lacked independence or impartiality given his repeat appointments by FIFA. The SFT declared the challenge inadmissible under R34(1) CAS Code, yet still proceeded…

Bribery, Corruption, Evidence, Fraud

, (NautaDutilh N.V.)/ /Leave a comment

After two years of absence due to COVID-19, the Dutch Arbitration Association held its eighth conference on 2 June 2022 in Amsterdam. The main theme of this year’s conference was fraud and corruption in arbitration. This blog reflects the main issues of the keynote speech and the panel debates of the conference. We will not…

Canada, International arbitration, VanIAC

(Farris LLP, VanIAC), , (Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, VanIAC), and (Fasken LLP, VanIAC)/ /Leave a comment

Canada’s west coast has long welcomed arbitration as a means of dispute resolution and provided a venue for arbitrations of all kinds. The Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (VanIAC) – established in 1986 under the name British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC) – has recently made further strides in providing parties with workable and efficient…

Arbitration clause, Dispute resolution clause, Inconsistent clauses

, (Herbert Smith Freehills LLP)/ /Leave a comment
Herbert Smith Freehills

It is critical to invest time to ensure that there are no inconsistencies between multiple dispute resolution/jurisdiction clauses within a particular contractual relationship (whether within a single contract or across multiple related contracts). Such inconsistencies inevitably lead to disputes over how the parties should resolve their disputes – a potentially costly sideshow to the resolution…

Deep Sea Mining, Uncategorized

(University of Antwerp)/ /Leave a comment

Various Pacific Island states have become involved in deep seabed mining (“DSM”) in order to reap the allegedly significant benefits to be obtained from extractive activities in the international seabed (“the Area”). According to the government of Nauru, such gains include “employment; training; capacity building; technology transfer; foreign investment; increased tax revenue; and national self-determination”….

Investment, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes, Investment protection, Russia, Ukraine

, (Binder Grösswang)/ /Leave a comment

Following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, dozens of states imposed sanctions against Russia. In response, Russia imposed or threatened to impose severe countermeasures on foreign investments associated with such “unfriendly states”. In this regard, several news outlets reported that Russia is in the process of implementing legislation that will interfere with foreign investments in…

Interpretation, Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment Treaties

(University of Ottawa)/ /Leave a comment
Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA)

States have spent the last decade and a half rebalancing the design of their international investment agreements (IIAs). In their new-generation IIAs, states have clarified core protective standards, omitted controversial clauses, and inserted new carve-outs and general exceptions. These reformed treaties, it was hoped, would provide investment tribunals with “new analytical devices for adjudicating disputes…

Belt Road Initiative, Biotechnology Industry, Pharmaceutical Industry

(DLA Piper) and (ICC)/ /Leave a comment

Though the world is in a constant state of flux, the last few years have been particularly taxing on the global economy. As the world emerges from a pandemic, it has lurched into a state of geopolitical tension arguably not seen since the end of the Cold War. The 7th ICC Asia-Pacific Conference on International…

Arbitration clause, China, Climate change, Corruption, Emergency Arbitrator, Hong Kong, Impecuniosity, India, Interim measures, Philippines, Transparency

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At the recent hybrid 7th ICC Asia-Pacific Conference on International Arbitration (the “Conference”), a palpable sense of happiness and community resonated throughout the day.  Mr Justin D’Agostino (Global CEO, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hong Kong) moderated the first panel discussion in a quick fire manner on recent arbitration developments in the Asia-Pacific region with leading practitioners…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Code of Conduct, Disclosure, ICSID, Investment Arbitration, UNCITRAL

(Association ARBITRI)/ /Leave a comment

Two years since it was published, the draft of the Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in International Investment Disputes is still subject to discussion and refinement by States and other stakeholders participating in the UNCITRAL Working Group III (WG III). This evolving instrument, developed jointly by the ICSID and UNCITRAL Secretariats, is the first attempt…

Crimea, Russia, Sanctions, Ukraine

(Wöss & Partners SC) and (NL-Investmentconsulting)/ /Leave a comment

On May 2, 2021, the ICC Austria organized a seminar on investment protection in Russia in light of its limited-scope investment agreements and the ongoing military crisis. The key speakers were Dr. Herfried Wöss, a partner of Woess & Partners LLC and founder of the Investment Arbitration Forum, and Prof. Dr. Nikos Lavranos, Of Counsel at…

Arbitration clause, Career, Careers in Arbitration, ICC

(Linklaters) and (SCC Arbitration Institute)/ /Leave a comment

After a two-year hiatus, the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum (ICC YAF) was back with a fully in-person program in Warsaw. This unique conference included an interview with Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, followed by a lively panel discussion on “champagne clauses and what comes next”. The event coincided with the…

Kluwer Arbitration Blog

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New features for the Profile Navigator, Relationship Indicator, and expanded Awards search capabilities will equip arbitration practitioners with faster and on-target research and actionable insights Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. announced new enhancements to several tools within Kluwer Arbitration Practice Plus (KAPP). These additions will expand KAPP’s capabilities to guide practitioners in finding the…

Achmea, Energy Charter Treaty, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Intra-EU ISDS, Investor-State arbitration

(University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

Amidst the still ongoing negotiations on the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which were concluded with an agreement in principle yesterday (24 June 2022), the Court of Justice of European Union (CJEU) delivered its ruling on Belgium’s request for an opinion on the compatibility of intra-EU investor-state arbitration under a modernised text of…

Achmea, Lithuania

(MILAŠAUSKAS MARTINKUTĖ SMALIUKAS)/ /Leave a comment

A recent decision of the Lithuanian Supreme Court (Civil case No. e3K-3-121-916/2022, 18 January 2022, hereinafter the “LSC judgement”) adds another episode to the long saga of implementing the Achmea  decision. The Lithuanian decision once again confirms the end of the BITs era in Europe and turns to national courts as well as to the…

Arbitration – The International Journal of Arbitration

(General Editor International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management; Queen Mary University of London), (Queen Mary University of London), (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators), and (Three Crowns)/ /Leave a comment

The 31st of January 2022 marked twenty-five years from the day the Arbitration Act 1996 was brought into force. Inspired by the UNCITRAL Model Law but, at the same time distinctly English, the Act has rightly been hailed as an ‘exemplary piece of legislation’.1) Merkin and Flannery on the Arbitration Act 1996 (6th Edition Informa…

Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU ISDS, Sunset clauses

(Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)/ /Leave a comment

‘Sunset’ (or ‘survival’) clauses extend the effects of the relevant investment treaty after its termination. They provide that the protection afforded by the treaty is maintained for a further period of time after termination to investments made during the lifetime of the treaty. As such, sunset clauses have an ‘entrenchment effect’ limiting the ability of…

Arbitration, Empirical Research, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Set aside an arbitral award

(WilmerHale & Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Roger P. Alford, Crina Baltag, Matthew E.K. Hall and Monique Sasson, Empirical Analysis of National Courts Vacatur and Enforcement of International Commercial Arbitration Awards The empirical research in this article relies on a…

ICSID, International arbitration, Investment, Investment Arbitration, Jurisdiction

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The debate surrounding the meaning and scope of the term ‘investment’ under the ICSID Convention is a product of the larger tussle between capital exporting and capital importing states, which convened at Washington in the search for a mutually beneficial agreement on foreign investments. It has been argued by Prof. Julian Davis Mortenson that ‘investment’…

Public Policy, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award, Set aside an arbitral award

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One of the articles authored by Dr Monique Sasson and featured in the Journal of International Arbitration Special Issue on Empirical Work in Commercial Arbitration, edited by Dr Monique Sasson, Dr Crina Baltag, Roger P. Alford, Matthew E.K. Hall, under the general editorship of Prof. Dr Maxi Scherer, discussed the public policy in the light…

Family disputes, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

(Charles Russell Speechlys LLP)/ /1 Comment

Family businesses – commercial entities in which multiple generations of a family wield influence over decision-making – are one of the oldest and most prevalent forms of association across the world, ranging from convenience stores to multinational corporations like Walmart, Samsung and Porsche. In 2020, Boston Consulting Group described family businesses as “contributing between 25%…