Bias, Canada, CanArb Week, Confidentiality, Confidentiality and Transparency, Diversity, Early Determination, Efficiency, Third party funding

, (McCarthy Tétrault LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Canadian Arbitration Week ran online from September 20 – 24, 2021 under the theme of adaptation and acceleration.  A timely focus as the pandemic continues to accelerate sweeping changes in the legal world. The 2021 YCAP Fall Symposium titled “New World, New Rules” took place on September 23 and addressed the theme in a session…

Advance on Costs, asset freeze, Sanctions

, (AZHA Avocats)/ /Leave a comment

This post is the first in a series of three regarding the potential impact of economic sanctions on arbitral and financial institutions. The series addresses critical issues faced by such institutions as a result of restrictions on transfers of funds under primary and secondary sanctions programmes. This first entry discusses the potential effects of asset…

Arbitration, Arbitrator Selection, Arbitrators, Career

(Aavagard LLP)/ /2 Comments

I recently co-chaired with Gustav Flecke-Giammarco a Delos roundtable on this topic, at the kind invitation of its President and Co-Founder, Hafez Virjee. The topic links to a broader theme: how to be an international arbitration practitioner and manage some balance while at it? It can be tricky, and I am conscious that especially during…

China, Hong Kong, Lusophone countries, Macau, Tax Obligations, Taxation, UNCITRAL Model Law

(MdME Lawyers) and (University of Macau)/ /Leave a comment

If you are a party to a lease agreement or a grant of right to use commercial space in Macau, tax considerations may now be critical for determining whether “to arbitrate or not to arbitrate”. In fact, aside from the typical advantages of arbitration over litigation, tax reduction has now become an additional advantage for…

Arbitral Appointments, Arbitrators, Diversity

(Science Po), (Queen Mary University of Law), and (MIDS Geneva)/ /Leave a comment

On 1 September 2021, Global Arbitration Review (GAR) launched a new diversity-themed addition to its GAR Connect series, “Breaking In: How international arbitration becomes more diverse.”1)The authors would like to thank Racial Equality for Arbitration Lawyers (R.E.A.L.) for providing a scholarship to attend the event. The event, co-chaired by Adriana Braghetta (Adriana Braghetta Lawyers), Nayla…

Yearbook Commercial Arbitration

(General Editor, ICCA Publications; Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam)/ /Leave a comment

Subscribers to KluwerArbitration.com enjoy access to the ICCA Yearbook Commercial Arbitration. A selection of major CRCICA awards concerning contracts for the supply of commodities and dealing with a variety of notorious issues – parallel arbitration proceedings, non-signatory parties, res judicata, corruption, and force majeure ‑‑ is now available on KluwerArbitration.com. Two awards, rendered in Madrid…

BVI, English Law, Interpretation of Contracts, Uncategorized

, (Harneys)/ /Leave a comment

How do English and BVI courts address inconsistencies in arbitration clauses? The English Court of Appeal decision in AdActive Media Inc v Ingrouille [2021] EWCA Civ 313 demonstrates that English courts will make every effort to honour the express terms of a contract. In AdActive, the Court of Appeal examined three apparently inconsistent dispute resolution…

Arbitration Agreement, UAE

(Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East) LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The purpose of a dispute resolution clause is to provide for a process and a forum through which disputes can be resolved efficiently. However, dispute resolution clauses are too often ignored and relegated to the end of contractual negotiations or considered boilerplate provisions without regards to the overall context. Issues may arise from the parties’…

Arbitrability, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Derivate Contracts, Smart Contracts

(ArbTech) and (3 Verulam Buildings & ArbTech)/ /1 Comment

Introduction – What is Binance? The rise of the cryptocurrency industry has spawned some of the fastest growing and most profitable companies since the original dotcom boom, with those like Coinbase, which was valued at almost US$100 billion after its recent IPO, being prime examples. However, Coinbase, as a cryptocurrency exchange, is dwarfed by the…

Private International Law Act, Set aside an international arbitral award, Supreme Court, Switzerland

(Wartmann Merker AG)/ /Leave a comment

Swiss substantive law allows a debtor to pay a debt in the national currency of the place of payment even though the debt is actually owed in a foreign currency, except for cases where the contract expressly requires fulfillment of the debt in “actual currency” by using the term “actual” or words to that effect…

Yearbook Commercial Arbitration

(General Editor, ICCA Publications; Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam)/ /Leave a comment

Subscribers to KluwerArbitration.com enjoy access to the ICCA Yearbook Commercial Arbitration. A new upload of materials for the 2021 volume of ICCA’s Yearbook Commercial Arbitration is now available on the KluwerArbitration website. The upload consists of 27 decisions. Here are some highlights. The Federal Supreme Court of Germany held that the need to avoid contradictory…

Cultural heritage, ICSID, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes

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

Investor-state disputes often involve an interplay of different bodies of international law.  In addition to investment law, disputes may invoke issues involving public international law, international human rights law, and international environmental law – and tribunals are faced with the challenges of trying to reconcile the sometimes conflicting rights created under these different bodies of…

Estonia, Public Policy

(NJORD Law Firm)/ /Leave a comment

The 168 parties to the New York Convention, including Estonia, have made a promise to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards. One of the few grounds – and probably the most discussed one – to refuse the recognition and enforcement is, under Article V(2)(b) of the New York Convention, the contradiction to the public policy…

Uncategorized

(Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)/ /1 Comment

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…

Appointment of arbitrators, Arbitrability, Iran

(ICC YAAF) and (University of Nottingham)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Arbitrability, Derivative Claims, India

(Gujarat National Law University)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Netherlands, Netherlands Arbitration Institute, Netherlands Commercial Court

, (Linklaters LLP)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Arbitration, In Memoriam, Qatar

(Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration)/ /6 Comments

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…

ACICA, Interviews with Our Editors

/ /Leave a comment

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…

Emergency Arbitrator, Enforceability, Enforcement, India

/ /1 Comment

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…

Journal of International Arbitration

(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:   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…

Arbitrators, Diversity

/ /Leave a comment

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…

Intellectual Property, Paris Arbitration Week

, (Linklaters LLP)/ /Leave a comment

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…