2021 in Review, ICSID Amendments, Investor-State arbitration, ISDS Reform, ITA, UNCITRAL, UNCITRAL WG III Series, UNCITRAL WG3 Series

and (The Australian National University)/ /Leave a comment

The year 2021 has been perhaps the most controversial year for investment arbitration. From the profound structural reform work with respect to the ICSID and UNCITRAL rules, through the complete ban and termination of intra-EU investment arbitration in the European Union, to the ECT modernization process, this year has been marked by change and reform…

Consistency, Exchange rate, Investment Arbitration, Latin America, quantum, Transfer of Funds Clauses

(Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

Inconsistent decisions have long been a major criticism in investment arbitration. This does not only pertain to decisions on procedure, jurisdiction or merits but also to quantum issues. This contribution will center around one unlikely connection that has the potential to enhance consistency and predictability in an area of quantification of damages in investment arbitration:…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox, Best practices, CIArb, Cybersecurity, Due process, IT, Technology

(Peter & Kim)/ /Leave a comment

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (“CIArb”) has just issued its fifteenth Guideline, the CIArb Framework Guideline on the Use of Technology in International Arbitration (“CIArb Technology Guideline” or “Guideline”).  To enhance our readers’ Arbitration Tech Toolbox, Kluwer Arbitration Blog has taken the opportunity to interview Dr. Gordon Blanke, who is one of the seven members…

Costs in arbitral proceedings, Ecuador, Investment Arbitration, Latin America, State defense

, (Carmigniani Pérez Abogados)/ /Leave a comment

On November 23, 2021, Ecuador’s Attorney General (“AG”), Iñigo Salvador Crespo announced the creation of a new institutional framework for handling disputes brought against the state and state entities with the vision of preventing and reducing litigation, particularly costly international arbitrations. The Institutional Strengthening of the Attorney General’s Office Project (“PROFIP” for its initials in…

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. The present upload consists of 26 decisions applying the major arbitration Conventions and dealing with issues of general interest to the arbitration community. The following may be of particular interest to our readers. First, the upload includes three decisions of the European Court of…

Cybersecurity, Document Production, Evidence, Institutional Rules, TIAC, Uzbekistan

(Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP), , and (Tashkent International Arbitration Centre)/ /Leave a comment

Since its establishment in 2018 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre (the “TIAC”) has kept abreast the evolution of the global social and economic climate and modern international arbitration practices, and sought to modernize its administration of international arbitrations to meet current and future challenges faced by…

Shanghai, Shanghai International Arbitration Center

(Shanghai International Arbitration Center)/ /Leave a comment
Shanghai International Arbitration Center (SHIAC)

The 2021 Shanghai Arbitration Week (“SHAW”) kicked off on 8 November 2021, accompanying the grand event of the Shanghai International Arbitration Summit. Mr. Xiong Xuanguo, Vice Minister of the Justice Department of the PRC, Mr. Peng Chenlei, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary-General of UNCITRAL, and Ms. Lucy Reed, President…

Brazil, foreign direct investment

(Lyon Catholic University) and (Bank of Northeast - Brazilian Regional Development Bank)/ /Leave a comment

Brazil is an interesting actor in the field of investment-related treaties. For example, Brazil has been a major player when it comes to foreign direct investment (“FDI”) outflows. This was not always the case. Brazilian outward foreign direct investment (“OFDI”) was minor throughout the 1990s. However, after economic and institutional reforms, Brazilian companies became increasingly internationalized,…

Procedural Error, Set aside an arbitral award, Set aside an international arbitral award, Sweden, Swedish Arbitration Act

/ /Leave a comment

On 1 December 2021, the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm rejected Kibar Enerji Anonim Sirketi’s request to set aside an arbitral award in a dispute with Gazprom Export LLC over contract pricing of natural gas. Kibar alleged that the arbitral tribunal had exceeded its mandate and had also committed a procedural error when issuing…

Arbitral seat, Bulgaria, UNCITRAL Model Law

(Dimitrov, Petrov & Co.)/ /Leave a comment

Being a Member State of the EU and a party to the New York Convention (NYC), the Republic of Bulgaria is an attractive destination to locate the seat of your arbitration proceedings. This is especially so if you are seeking a neutral venue where costs for travel, accommodation and similar, would be significantly lower in…

Attribution, Libya, State Responsibility

(University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section)/ /Leave a comment

Under Article 10(1) of the ILC Articles on State Responsibility, acts committed by rebels (or any other type of ‘insurrection movements’) during a successful insurgency aimed at establishing a new government are attributable to the State after their victory. After the civil war, and once the rebels have formed a new government, the State will…

2021 in Review, Kluwer Arbitration Blog

(Stockholm University) and (Notre Dame Law School)/ /Leave a comment

At Kluwer Arbitration Blog, December is the month to thank our readers, collaborators and editors for their tremendous support. We come at the end of a year of challenges and renewed hopes, for a 2022 where we can meet in person and celebrate our achievements. We would like to express our gratitude for your contributions…

Finland, Innovation, Shareholders Agreement, Start-up

, , (The Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI))/ /Leave a comment

Helsinki International Arbitration Day (HIAD) is an arbitration conference organised by The Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI). HIAD brings together legal practitioners from Finland and abroad to hear from top experts on the latest developments in international arbitration and mediation. This year’s event, held on 3 December 2021, was attended by more than 200 participants and focused…

COVID-19, India, Technology, Think Arbi, Virtual hearings

(Rashmikant and Partners)/ /2 Comments
HK45

In the 1970s, when my father left India to study abroad, trunk calls home were rare and expensive, requiring shouting into the phone. In 2020, we have all exasperatedly repeated “You’re on mute” and “Am I audible?” into our screens on an almost daily basis. As public spaces became off-limits, those with access to technology…

Arbitration, Artificial Intelligence, Discovery, Think Arbi

(King's College London)/ /Leave a comment
HK45

Les notions, essentiellement philosophiques, de volonté et de liberté sont au cœur de la matière.  – Emmanuel Gaillard   Arbitration is a form of private dispute resolution. Parties arbitrate disputes through a private system created of their own will and liberty, contractually exiting the public, state-controlled system of dispute resolution. Whilst there are many different…

Arbitration Procedure, ICSID Arbitration, ISDS Reform, Korea, VIAC

, , / /Leave a comment

In the first week of November 2021, Seoul, once again, connected leading ADR practitioners, legal professionals, and scholars from different corners of the world through the Seoul ADR Festival 2021 (“SAF”). The SAF’s main flagship event was the 10th Asia-Pacific ADR Virtual Conference. Co-hosted by the UNCITRAL, Korea’s Ministry of Justice, KCAB INTERNATIONAL, the International…

currency, Enforcement, Enforcement of an arbitration clause, Lebanon, MENA

/ /Leave a comment

Much like Beckett’s Vladimir and Estragon, desperately waiting for Godot without success, the citizens of Lebanon are protagonists of a living theater of the absurd which their country has become, desperately waiting for legal, institutional and social reforms to no avail. While the collapse of the Lebanese financial system and the de facto capital controls…

Journal of International Arbitration

(ArbBoutique & 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:   Markus Burgstaller & Giorgio Risso, Due Diligence in International Investment Law The obligation to exercise due diligence – which is commonly understood as the degree of care that is legally required or that…

Corruption, France, Recognition and enforcement of arbitral award

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

It’s all still to play for. After the Paris Court of Appeal refused enforcement of a Swiss arbitral award against Alstom on the grounds of corruption, the French Supreme Court has now overturned that decision, ruling that the judges misinterpreted the evidence before them. The case may now be referred to the Versailles Court of…

NAFTA, USMCA, World Arbitration Update

(White & Case), (Manesco, Ramires, Perez, Azevedo Marques Sociedade de Advogados), (Concepción Global, PLLC, Universidad Complutense de Madrid), and (Xtrategy LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The World Arbitration Update conference, held on 11 to 15 October 2021, aimed to update the international arbitration community on the latest North American continental trends and developments. This blog post addresses two of the WAU’s panel discussions regarding (1) the outlook on the trends and developments in the Americas and (2) Caribbean-related arbitrations involving…

2021 in Review, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Energy, ICSID Convention, Investment Arbitration, Latin America, Mexico

(Locke Lord LLP)/ /Leave a comment

In 2021, we witnessed a number of interesting developments in the field of investment arbitration in Latin America. From Mexico’s actions potentially triggering numerous treaty claims, to Colombia’s four consecutive victories, to Ecuador’s return to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention. Our authors did a tremendous job covering and sharing their…

Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Arbitration Rules, Denmark

(The Danish Institute of Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

The Danish Institute of Arbitration (the DIA) updated its arbitration rules this year. The DIA Rules of Arbitration 2021 (the DIA Rules 2021) apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 13 April 2021, unless otherwise agreed. The updated rules tell us that the DIA focuses on best practice, pragmatism and efficiency, and that they bolster…

Austria, Interviews with Our Editors, VIAC

(Stockholm University)/ /1 Comment

Alice, welcome back to Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and thank you for allowing us to continue our previous conversation published here in 2019. This time we would like to focus on ‘Alice Fremuth-Wolf’ as one of the leading personalities of international arbitration who has promoted and implemented modern approaches to arbitration at the Vienna International Arbitral…

Enforceability, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Qatar

, (Al Tamimi & Company)/ /Leave a comment

Over the last few years, the courts in Qatar have been criticized from the arbitration community for having issued several rulings setting aside both domestic and foreign arbitral awards on public policy grounds. In particular, these rulings held that like court issued judgments, domestic and even foreign arbitral awards were required to be rendered in…