Ecuador´s Arbitration and Mediation Law (“AML”) was enacted in 1997 and amended in 2015. However, the AML did not count with regulations until August 2021. Given that some provisions contained in the AML are vague, arbitrators, counsel and judges interpreted them in different ways, many of them in contradiction with the very nature of the…
ISDS has faced harsh criticism from environmental groups as being inimical to the protection of the environment. This post argues that environmental protection is an emerging jus cogens norm, and thus, an arising erga omnes obligation, which investment tribunals must recognize as such. Additionally, it explores the legal consequences of applying this public international law…
The Editorial Board of the ITA Arbitration Report announces the opening of two positions of Assistant Editors. The Assistant Editors report directly to the co-managing editors, Dr Monique Sasson and Dr Crina Baltag. The Assistant Editors are expected to assist the co-managing editors in their tasks and to summarize relevant arbitral awards as per the…
Similar to other countries in the region, Qatar’s primary legal system is civil law based. In 2005, the Qatar Financial Centre (“QFC”), an offshore jurisdiction, was established in Qatar by virtue of Law No. 7 of 2005 as amended by Law No. 2 of 2009 (“QFC Law”). This post sheds light on the jurisdiction of…
The views of the party-appointed experts in an arbitration may differ substantially, making it difficult for tribunals to navigate within the multiple areas of disagreement. Even if the disagreed issues can be isolated (e.g. via means of the joint expert report), understanding the sensitivity of the amount claimed to the individual assumptions may not be…
The Editorial Board of the ITA Arbitration Report announces the opening of two positions of Assistant Editors. The Assistant Editors report directly to the co-managing editors, Dr Monique Sasson and Dr Crina Baltag. The Assistant Editors are expected to assist the co-managing editors in their tasks and to summarize relevant arbitral awards as per the…
Technology is crucial in the contemporary, knowledge-based economy. Over the past decade, technology-related, telecommunications, and now Internet of Things (IoT) disputes have gained momentum. An area of relevance has been ‘Fair, Reasonable and Non-discriminatory’ (FRAND) litigation. It relates to the licensing terms of patents essential to the implementation of a standard. While litigation is an…
Western European countries have taken divergent approaches to dealing with the consequences of shutting down power plants while transitioning towards cleaner energy sources. On one side, Germany resolved the resulting compensation disputes by making settlement payments to the owners of affected nuclear and coal power plants. In contrast, the Netherlands appears reluctant to similarly compensate…
Welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Ms. Coelho! We are grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CAM-CCBC), and its administration of complex disputes, as well as about the attractiveness of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro as seats for international arbitration. …
A recent, still unpublished, judgment of the French-speaking section of the Brussels Court of First Instance (Belgium) (the “Brussels court” or the “court”) provides an excellent opportunity to take stock of recent developments on the much-debated topic of delegation of tasks to arbitral secretaries. Russia famously put the arbitral secretary in the spotlight in the…
On 8 June 2021, the Paris Court of appeal (CoA) rendered an interesting decision dealing with the issue of so-called “double hatting” in sports arbitration. The issue of double hatting can no longer arise with respect to proceedings before the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as Article S18(3) of the Code of Sports-related…
This post is in response to the post titled “The First Year of Tanzania’s 2020 Arbitration Act” published on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog on 21 April 2021. In the above-mentioned post, Katarina Jurisic and Michael Wietzorek analysed the provisions of Tanzania’s Arbitration Act 2020 (‘the Act’) and the effect that the Act would have on…
The United States Supreme Court’s June 2020 decision in GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC (“GE Energy“) made clear that, under U.S. law, a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement may invoke equitable estoppel to compel arbitration under Article II(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of…
A few days ago I had the fortune of attending the fourth webinar of the Young ITA Mentorship Program – Speaker Series, entitled The (Sometimes Forgotten) Importance of the Arts and Psychology in Advocacy in International Arbitration. Part of the dialogue focused on reviewing whether theatrical study could be useful to lawyers in enhancing their…
In May 2021, India’s National Company Law Tribunal (‘NCLT’) ordered the liquidation of Devas Multimedia (‘Devas’), on grounds of it having been incorporated for fraudulent purposes. This is the latest turn in a long running dispute contested across multiple fora. In this post, I highlight that this could give rise to a third BIT claim…
The COVID-19 pandemic has normalized virtual hearings. According to the Ontario Superior Court, this has made the doctrine of forum non conveniens obsolete. In Kore Meals LLC v Freshii Development LLC, 2021 ONSC 2896, in the context of an application to stay Canadian court proceedings in favour of arbitration in the U.S., the Ontario Superior Court…
There has been much debate about immunity this last year. While, most were discussing concepts of “herd immunity” against the novel coronavirus, the Delhi High Court (Court) ventured into and addressed aspects of “sovereign immunity”. In a batch of petitions (KLA Const Technologies v. The Embassy of the Afghanistan and Matrix Global v. Ministry of…
The Dubai Court of Cassation, in its recent judgement, DCC 1308 of 2020, explored the effect of incorporation of arbitration clauses by reference. Typically, “incorporation by reference” refers to parties agreeing to incorporate arbitral clauses found in separate standard-form agreements (“SFAs”) into the agreement between the parties by making reference to the same. Such reference…
On 2 June 2021, the British government announced that the existing 11 signatories (the “Parties”) to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) have agreed to the United Kingdom’s bid to begin the accession process.1)The signatories consist of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. International Trade…
This blog has previously discussed the illegality of unilateral appointments of sole arbitrators in India. However, a good beginning is only half the battle won. Before one dwells further, it is important to gauge the Indian position on unilateral appointments. First, as stated in TRF Ltd. v. Energo Engineering (“TRF”), if the nominated arbitrator is…
In December 2020, the EU and UK concluded the negotiations of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). This Agreement is a crucial step towards maintaining a long-standing relationship between the EU and the UK. One of the principal goals of the TCA is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050; with this objective, the treaty establishes…
In a class action lawsuit, a plaintiff or group of plaintiffs bring claims on behalf of similarly situated individuals. The legislatures in some civil law countries including Korea, have recently proposed or implemented measures allowing or expanding the use of class actions in their court systems. Considering that Korea currently does not have in place…
In May 2021, Cairn Energy PLC filed a lawsuit before a New York Court to enforce a USD 1.2 billion investor-State arbitral award against India passed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. It sought, in particular, a proclamation that State-owned entity (SOE), Air India “should be held jointly and severally responsible for India’s debts, including…
First appearing in the 1970s, denial of benefits (DoB) clauses have proliferated, became more sophisticated, and evolved significantly and even beyond recognition as in the 2017 Colombian Model BIT. This post discusses such evolution and provides a taxonomy of the different versions of the clause. Denial of Benefits Clauses in Outline Traditionally, DoB clauses…
