The Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA), in collaboration with the ITA Board of Reporters, is happy to inform you that the latest ITA Arbitration Report was published: a free email subscription service available at KluwerArbitration.com delivering timely reports on awards, cases, legislation, and current developments from over 60 countries and 12 institutions. To get your free subscription to the…
On February 13, 2024, a tribunal comprising of Alexis Mourre, Eduardo Siqueiros and Eduardo Zuleta Jaramillo rendered an award in the case of Latin American Regional Aviation Holding S. de S.R.L. v. Uruguay (ICSID Case No. ARB/19/16), under the Panama – Uruguay bilateral investment treaty (the “Treaty”). The dispute concerned Uruguay’s national airline Pluna, where…
While Pakistan is heading towards promulgating a new arbitration law, developments continue to take place under the extant Arbitration Act, 1940 (“the Act”). Section 34 is one of the most availed provisions of the Act, which provides for the stay of court proceedings where an arbitration agreement exists between the parties. This provision can be…
In Vento Motorcycles, Inc. v. United Mexican States (“Vento”), a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in an investor-State arbitration case, a proposed intervener suggested that procedural fairness protections under the UNCITRAL Model Law should be harmonized with those of domestic administrative law. This suggestion fuels the debate, which has been raging since…
In a recent book and a report published by the OECD (“Expert contribution Prof Dumberry: Cost of inaction – arbitral practice in respect on FET”, Track 2 program, “Future of Investment Treaties”), I have examined the way tribunals have assessed the relationship between Fair and Equitable Treatment (“FET”) clauses and the Minimum Standard of Treatment…
To colour within the lines is something many of us pride ourselves to have mastered perhaps some time ago. Crossing the lines with a hasty movement may ruin an otherwise nice picture. Similarly, an otherwise good arbitration may be spoiled if the tribunal fails to stay within the lines drawn up by the parties. Like…
The Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA), in collaboration with the ITA Board of Reporters, is happy to inform you that the latest ITA Arbitration Report was published: a free email subscription service available at KluwerArbitration.com delivering timely reports on awards, cases, legislation and current developments from over 60 countries and 12 institutions. To get your free subscription to the ITA…
On 5 May 2024, the Civil and Commercial Court of the Qatar Financial Centre (“Court”), rendered its judgment in B v C on a setting aside application brought under the QFC Arbitration Regulations 2005 (“QFC Arbitration Regulations”). This is an important judgment because it is the first Court judgment commenting on the setting aside of…
When a party is not content with an arbitration award, a challenge in the domestic courts often ensues. The High Court of England and Wales (the ‘High Court’) often deals with this issue in challenges based on ‘serious irregularity’ in arbitration proceedings. How domestic courts approach challenges to arbitration awards is of increasing importance as…
On 26 June 2024, 26 of the 27 EU Member States, along with the EU, signed a Declaration on the Legal Consequences of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) in Komstroy and a Common Understanding on the Non-applicability of Article 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty as a Basis for…
The Supreme Court of Iran has rendered a historic decision, providing insight into the proper interpretation of Article 139 of the Iranian Constitution concerning administrative approvals for agreements to arbitrate, which has been considered to be a major hurdle to arbitration in Iran. This provision, which also finds voice in the Civil Procedures Code, requires…
The 38th AAA-ICDR-ICC-ICSID Joint Colloquium on May 21, 2024 at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. brought together leaders from three major international arbitration institutions and practitioners from near and far. The wide-ranging program covered cutting edge technological innovations and timeless human considerations such as persuasion, corruption, and disability inclusion. Opening Remarks and Institutional Updates…
The fifth edition of the Bucharest Arbitration Days (“BArD”) took place on 6 and 7 June 2024. It set out to highlight recent critical developments in international arbitration. The first day focused on commercial arbitration, and the second on investment arbitration. The general consensus? Mission accomplished. Seven panels and two keynotes reunited seasoned experts as…
Ms. Bayzakova, it’s a pleasure to have you back, and Dr. Islambek Rustambekov, welcome to our interview series! Ms. Bayzakova is the Director of the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre (“TIAC”) and also serves as an arbitrator. Prof. Dr. Rustambekov is a member of the panel of arbitrators at the TIAC, an Acting Rector and Professor…
On 12 April 2024, the Regional Court of Essen (“LG Essen”) dismissed Spain’s request for an anti-enforcement injunction of an intra-EU investor-state arbitration award (2 O 447/22). The LG Essen held that anti-enforcement injunctions are inadmissible because they violate state sovereignty. This blog post will cover the facts and background of the decision, examine the…
While refusing to interfere with an award under Section 68 of the English Arbitration Act, Justice Teare pithily quipped that “by choosing to resolve disputes by arbitration the parties clothe the tribunal with jurisdiction to make a ‘wrong’ finding of fact”. These observations made in the set-aside proceedings are rooted in the fundamental principle that…
On 12 March 2024, Judge Ana C. Reyes, presiding over the District of Columbia (“D.C.”) Circuit, issued a decision on the petition to set aside filed by the Municipalidad de Lima concerning two arbitral awards. Judge Ana C. Reyes denied the petition from the Municipalidad de Lima. This post describes the background to this long-standing…
On 8 April 2024, following lengthy discussions dating back to 2019, the UNCITRAL Working Group III (“WGIII”) completed the draft statute of an advisory centre on international investment dispute resolution (“Advisory Centre”) (see previous coverage). The statute, incorporating inputs from over 70 state delegations and 40 international organisations, will be presented for approval at the…
In a recent decision dated April 8, 2024, a sole arbitrator seated in Santiago de Chile ruled in favor of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco” or the “Claimant”) in an internet domain property dispute. The dispute between Aramco and Mr. Joaquín Poblete (“Mr. Poblete” or the “Respondent”) arose when Mr. Poblete registered and obtained property…
It is well-recognized in the world of international arbitration that the curial courts—those at the seat of the arbitration—have supervisory jurisdiction over their local arbitral proceedings (the so-called “seat standard”). Despite this, Chinese courts have historically been reluctant to take on the mantle of this supervisory jurisdiction for arbitrations administered by foreign arbitration institutions within…
Taking witness evidence by video has long been considered acceptable practice in many jurisdictions. The Covid-19 pandemic of recent years has further affirmed the acceptability and use of this method of evidence-taking in both litigation and arbitration proceedings, especially since the only alternative to a remote hearing during those years was the even less desirable…
On 26 April 2024, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“SFSC”) rendered decision 4A_486/2023, upholding the unpublished Final Award in Clorox Spain S.L. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (“Clorox v. Venezuela”) (PCA Case No. 2015-30). In the underlying investment treaty arbitration, Clorox sought compensation for the alleged expropriation and unfair treatment of its investment by Venezuela,…
On 13 June 2024, Italian Arbitration Day took place in Rome. The full-day conference saw a large number of arbitration practitioners dealing with the issue of globalization and geography in the arbitration. This post offers an overview of the key takeaways from the discussion. Introduction: The Past, Present, and Future of Globalization After…
If an international arbitration practitioner hears “renewable energy,” “renewable energy source,” (“RES”) or even “energy transition” disputes, chances are that he or she may think of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) and the torrent of claims filed by investors against European Union (“EU”) Member States. These claims challenge retroactive regulatory changes to feed-in tariff and…
