This year marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGPs”), which set out the duties of States and responsibilities of companies to embed human rights considerations in business activities. Of the three Pillars in the UNGPs, Pillar II (principles 11-24) specifically sets out human rights principles by which…
A significant number of disputes related to Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) that have been settled by arbitration are reflected in the 2011-2020 World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) Caseload Summary. The expansion of the notion of arbitrability to include IPR disputes in recent years illustrates the global trend toward arbitration of IPR disputes despite concerns over…
There is no statutory provision that covers derivative actions by shareholders in India. However, the chapter on Prevention of Oppression and Mismanagement in the Companies Act, 2013 (“the Companies Act”) comes the closest. While Indian courts have generally adopted a stance against the arbitrability of oppression and mismanagement matters (Rakesh Malhotra v. Rajinder Malhotra, Sporting…
On 15 September 2021, the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) and Young NAI organized a webinar that focused on the upcoming 2022 NAI Arbitration Rules and also covered other developments related to green arbitration, transparency, diversity and efficiency in international arbitration. Allen & Overy hosted the webinar, with Marieke van Hooijdonk opening the event. The…
Dr Minas Khatchadourian left this world for the heavenly abode in July 2021. This news was a great shock to the Middle Eastern legal community. In particular, his loss will be significantly felt in Egypt – his home country – and Qatar – where Dr Khatchadourian spent the last ten years as the General Legal…
Georgia Quick is a senior partner in Ashurst’s dispute resolution group and joint head of the firm’s Australian international arbitration practice. Dual qualified in Australia and England & Wales, she has been extensively involved with the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (“ACICA”), having joined the Board in 2010 and sat as a Vice President…
Recently the Supreme Court of India in Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings Inc. v. Future Retail Ltd, (“Amazon v. Future”) took a progressive step by enforcing an emergency order/award rendered by an emergency arbitral tribunal appointed by Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”). The Court held that the term ‘arbitral tribunal’ contained in section 17 of the…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Michael Hwang S.C. & Kevin Tan, The Time Limit to Set Aside an Award under Article 34(3) of the Model Law: A Comparative Study The time limit to set aside an award under…
This week has seen the launch of a new initiative – ARBinBRIEF. ARBinBRIEF is a practical video guide on handpicked arbitration issues. ARBinBRIEF aims to provide a concise, yet very informative insight into arbitration-related topics to all members of the arbitration community. The ARBinBRIEF series is divided into seasons consisting of 10 episodes each. Each…
The Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) held a virtual panel discussion on Arbitration and Trade Secrets during the Paris Arbitration Week. SVAMC’s CEO, Les Schiefelbein, opened the event and Stan Putter (Partner, Smallegange Lawyers) moderated the panel discussion. The panel included Sana Belaïd (Senior Counsel, Cisco Systems), Ignacio de Castro (Director, World Intellectual…
Earlier this year, Colombia prevailed in two arbitrations under the Colombia-US Trade Promotion Agreement (“TPA”). The claims were filed by Alberto Carrizosa Gelzis, Felipe Carrizosa Gelzis and Enrique Carrizosa Gelzis (“Carrizosa brothers”) under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and by Astrida Benita Carrizosa (“Ms. Carrizosa”) under the ICSID Convention. In both arbitrations Ms. Carrizosa and the…
Antonio R. Parra led a lengthy and luminous career of international public service, having held various roles in the OPEC Fund and the World Bank. Of special interest to our readers is that from 1990 to 1999 Mr. Parra was Legal Adviser at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and then from…
Introduction In the past few years, there has been a visible focus on ensuring diversity, especially in terms of gender, in international arbitration (IA). This engagement has, arguably, assumed the most prominent or tangible form in respect of arbitrator appointments, which has been previously discussed here and here. One of the most significant steps taken…
On July 1, 2021 the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revised its Arbitration Rules (2021 WIPO Rules). The amendments include a possibility for the parties to conduct remote hearings, an obligation to disclose third-party-funder agreements and a decrease in costs in arbitration proceedings. As elaborated below, the 2021 WIPO Rules have been adapted to reflect…
On 26 May 2021, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova (the “Supreme Court”) decided that the procedure for execution of an enforcement title, after recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award, falls outside the scope of the New York Convention. Instead, it is subject to municipal law. Factual Background The request…
During the Paris Arbitration Week, HKIAC held a webinar on “Protecting your interest through interim relief from Mainland Chinese courts”, two years after the unprecedented Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Arrangement) came into…
When you think about the British Virgin Islands (BVI), you probably have a very good image of the sea, sand, beautiful views and maybe some very much needed vacation. There is however more to the BVI, particularly as relates to arbitration. It is possible that in the coming years, the BVI will be one of…
On 20 September 2021, a panel of arbitration and dispute resolution experts discussed the topic of technological disruption in commercial arbitration and online dispute resolution (ODR) with a specific focus on smaller disputes. Moderated by Ms Myriam Seers (Partner, Savoie Laporte), the panel included Ms Sophie Nappert (Independent Arbitrator, 3 Verulam Buildings, and Co-Founder, ArbTech),…
The 2021 Paris Arbitration Week (PAW), which kicked off on Monday 20 September 2021, brings the arbitration community together in a hybrid format with participants and speakers attending in person and online from all over the globe, following a fully virtual edition in 2020. One of Monday’s sessions involved a series of Oxford-style debates on harmonization through…
The recent Singapore Court of Appeal judgment in Republic of India v. Vedanta Resources PLC provides a relevant backdrop for revisiting the often-competing themes of confidentiality and consistency in investment arbitrations and their effect on cross-disclosure of evidence (witness statements or documentary exhibits) and pleadings in parallel arbitral proceedings over a common substantive issue-in-dispute. Cross-disclosure…
Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. recently announced the inclusion of additional topics to the Practical Insights module in Kluwer Arbitration Practice Plus (KAPP). The 23 topics expand Kluwer Arbitration’s capabilities to guide practitioners through the most important steps of the arbitral process. Launched in December 2019, KAPP is a practical extension to Kluwer Arbitration,…
On 30 July 2021, the PRC Ministry of Justice issued the Amendment to the Arbitration Law (Consultation Draft) (the “Draft Amendment”), which is the first substantial amendment of the existing PRC Arbitration Law (the “Arbitration Law”) in more than two decades. (See previous posts on the PRC Arbitration Law here and here.) Of the changes…
On 6 January 2021, the Egyptian Government introduced a draft law for parliament’s approval, seeking to expand the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court’s (“ESCC”) jurisdiction to scrutinize international arbitration awards rendered against the Egyptian State and acts of international organizations affecting the Egyptian State. The legislative amendment is in line with previous legislative measures designed to…
Would you agree to arbitrate in a forum where the opposing party has the last word about the tribunal’s composition? This is what the new Hungarian Concession Arbitration Court, scheduled to start operation in October 2021, proposes. The Name of the Game The Hungarian government loves playing with arbitration. In 2012, they prohibited arbitration…
