Arbitration, Artificial Intelligence, Deepfakes

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Arbitrator Intelligence

The legal industry has benefited tremendously from recent technological advancements, leading to the expansion of Legal Tech as the driving force for progress in this field. More and more tools – more or less Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)1)Generally, the term “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” refers to machines capable of replicating human intelligence. However, the technological status quo…

Appointment of arbitrators, Australia

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Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI)

On 30 May 2021 the fifth webinar of the series “The Rising Arbitrator’s Challenge: Navigating the Premise and Perils of Your First Appointment(s)” covering Australia and New Zealand was presented by ACICA45 in collaboration with the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI). RAI was created in September 2020 to support arbitration practitioners under 45 who have either…

Annulment, Applicable Law, Arbitrator Challenges, Emergency Arbitrator, Taiwan, UNCITRAL Model Law

(The Arbitration Chambers and Bond University)/ /Leave a comment

Although Taiwan’s legislative and judicial practices already conform to the spirit of the New York Convention (“Convention”) and the Model Law, it appears that non-Taiwanese parties nevertheless remain hesitant to arbitrate in Taiwan. The necessity of becoming a Model Law jurisdiction arises from Taiwan’s inability to accede to the New York Convention. Hence an institutional…

In Memoriam

(Lauterpacht Centre for International Law in the University of Cambridge)/ /Leave a comment

James Crawford was the pre-eminent international lawyer of his generation. Throughout his career as arbitrator, judge, advocate, and counsellor he defied so-called “realists” who, when they addressed international law, often claimed there is no such thing. Crawford was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1948 and made his career at the intersection of academia and…

Expedited arbitration, Permanent Court of Arbitration, UNCITRAL, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, UNCITRAL WG II Series

, (Permanent Court of Arbitration)/ /2 Comments

On 9 July 2021, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, better known as UNCITRAL, reached another milestone in its 55-year history. The Commission adopted the 2021 Expedited Arbitration Rules (“EAR”) (subject to completion, without objection, of a silence procedure). The EAR modify certain aspects of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (“UAR”) and must be…

BAC, China, CIETAC, Emergency Arbitrator, HKIAC, Hong Kong, Interim measures, interim relief

(Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre)/ /Leave a comment

In 2019, Mainland China and Hong Kong entered into a groundbreaking bilateral arrangement regarding interim measures for arbitration, i.e., Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Arrangement”).1)Thanks to Lingming Xu for his contribution to…

Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy and arbitration, Insolvency, Switzerland

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The economic havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a 10-year high of corporate bankruptcies in the United States in 2020. While bankruptcy levels across Europe have fallen amid the pandemic, a sharp spike in corporate bankruptcies is expected as economic support programs phase out in the coming months. This will increase the…

Achmea, Admissibility, Arbitration, Arbitration Proceedings, CJEU, Domestic Courts, Energy Charter Treaty, German law, Germany, ICSID, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Netherlands, UNCITRAL

, (Nishimura & Asahi)/ /1 Comment

The Achmea saga has taken yet another twist. In a recent communication to the Dutch Parliament, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate disclosed that it initiated “anti-arbitration” proceedings before the German courts on 11 May 2021 to “avert” two ECT-based ICSID arbitrations brought against it by the German energy companies RWE and Uniper (“Communication”)….

Hong Kong, Investment Treaties, investor-State arbitration and mediation, ISDS, Japan

, (City University of Hong Kong)/ /Leave a comment

In March 2021, a major newspaper broke the story that a Hong Kong investor had filed what may be considered the very first investment treaty arbitration claim against Japan under the Hong-Kong Bilateral Investment Treaty (Hong Kong, China SAR – Japan BIT 1997). While it may take anywhere from a few months to a few years…

Arbitration

(Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP), (Baker Hughes), and (Costigan King)/ /Leave a comment

Arbitration Idol is back for season 2! Following the tremendous success of our debut season in 2020, the summer of 2021 is once again dedicated to Arbitration Idol and to helping those in need. What is Arbitration Idol? It was a few weeks into the pandemic when, in June 2020, Svenja Wachtel (Digital Coffee Break…

ASA Bulletin

(Editor in Chief, ASA Bulletin; LALIVE) and (LALIVE)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to report that the latest issue of the ASA Bulletin is now available and includes the following articles and cases:   ARTICLES Felix DASSER, “Swiss Arbitration” – The New One-Stop Shop And Other Good News In his message, ASA President Felix DASSER shares the news of the launch of “Swiss Arbitration”, the…

Emergency Arbitrator, Kluwer Podcast

(Stockholm University)/ /Leave a comment

International Law Talk is a series of podcasts through which Wolters Kluwer provides the latest news and industry insights from thought leaders and experts in the fields of International Arbitration, IP Law, International Tax Law and Competition Law. Here at Kluwer Arbitration Blog, we highlight the podcasts focused on international arbitration. In this latest episode,…

Arbitration Tech Toolbox, Technology, Virtual hearings

(Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The pandemic has taught us to be flexible and adaptable and has opened up new possibilities, including the transformative use of technology in dispute resolution. While I have written on the use of technologies, including artificial intelligence (“AI”), in arbitration here before, my goal in this post is to provoke further thinking on the potential…

Arbitration, Hearing protocol, Hearings, Remote hearings

(Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP), (Fountain Court Chambers), and (Delos Dispute Resolution, Virjee Arbitration)/ /Leave a comment

In June 2020, we ran a survey of users’ experiences with remote hearings.  Our preliminary findings, which we published in International Arbitration and the COVID-19 Revolution (edited by Maxi Scherer, Niuscha Bassiri, Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab) showed that over ten times more fully remote hearings appeared to have taken place on an annualised basis in…

Admissibility, Document Production, Evidence

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

An emerging consideration in international arbitration is the use of evidence acquired illegally. Illegally obtained evidence can take a variety of forms, including, for example, illicit recordings, information obtained by trespass, and ‘hacked evidence’. ‘Hacked evidence’ refers to materials obtained through unauthorised access to an electronic system (either directly or through a third party), and…

Achmea, Corporate Social Responsibility, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, ISDS, Third party funding

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What does the future hold for investment protection in Europe? A colossal question that resonates across board rooms and government halls on both sides of the Channel. With a consortium of investment law experts including Nikos Lavranos (NL Investment Consulting), Ayse Lowe (Bench Walk), Gordon Nardell QC (Twenty Essex), and Laura Rees-Evans (Fietta LLP) joining…

Arbitral seat, Arbitration Act, Arbitration institution, Institutional Rules, Japan, Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, JCAA

(Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Singapore LLP) and (Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 May 2021, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (“JCAA”), Japan International Dispute Resolution Center (“JIDRC”), and the Japanese Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) co-hosted a webinar on developments in arbitration in Japan and Japan’s potential as an international arbitration hub. Some of the key takeaways from the event include: positive experiences with the physical and…

Independence and Impartiality, Social networks, Supreme Court, Switzerland

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Independence and impartiality of an arbitrator are sine qua non in an arbitration proceeding. It is for this reason that jurisdictions, all across the globe, have taken significant measures to elaborate on the circumstances that may raise justifiable doubts as to the independence and impartiality of an arbitrator. However, one sphere remained untapped, until recently….

Colombia, Dual Nationals, Investor-State arbitration, Jurisdiction, United States

, (GST LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The issue of dual nationals’ access to investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS”) has once again taken the center stage through the recently issued Carrizosa v. Colombia award. Resolved under the auspices of the 2013 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, the PCA tribunal unanimously dismissed the entire case for lack of jurisdiction ratione personae, in accordance with the provisions…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, BIT, Climate change, Energy Charter Treaty, Environment, Human Rights, International arbitration, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, PCA, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Space Arbitration

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International arbitration is changing at a fast pace, and opportunities arise every day in this field. In this context, on May 25, 2021, Young Arbitral Women Practitioners, Holland & Knight, and Rising Arbitrators Initiative co-hosted a webinar to discuss emerging fields of practice for arbitration lawyers. This post offers an overview of the variety of…

Asset Management, India, Sovereign Immunity, state-owned

, (Nishith Desai Associates)/ /Leave a comment

In the last decade, fifteen cases have been filed by foreign investors against India under various bilateral investment treaties (BITs).  Of these, three major cases were spurred by the ill-reputed retrospective taxation by India in 2012, allegedly targeted towards certain foreign investors namely: (i) Vodafone International Holdings BV v. The Republic of India (Vodafone case);…

Canada, conflict of interest, Ethics, judicial review, NAFTA, National Courts, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules

(Association ARBITRI)/ /1 Comment

The story of counsel ethics in international arbitration is very much like Cinderella’s fairytale. Once the clock struck midnight, all that remained was her glass slipper. This left the prince to search the kingdom for a maiden with the perfect fit for a “happily ever after”. Counsel ethics in international arbitration similarly involve an ongoing…

Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Austria, VIAC

, (Vienna International Arbitral Centre-VIAC)/ /Leave a comment

The Vienna International Arbitral Centre (“VIAC”) announces its most recent update to the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation (the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation 2021) taking effect on 1 July 2021. The revision of the VIAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation was triggered by the drafting of the new standalone set of VIAC…

Consent, Ecuador, ICSID Convention, International Investment Arbitration, Ratification

(Herbert Smith Freehills) and (Herbert Smith Frehills)/ /Leave a comment

On June 21, 2021, Ecuador’s Ambassador to the United States, Ivonne Juez Abuchacra de Baki, signed the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the “ICSID Convention“) on behalf of the Republic of Ecuador (“Ecuador“).  With Ecuador, the number of signatory States to the ICSID Convention is now…