The 1958 New York Convention (“NY Convention” or “Convention”) was adopted in the era when probably the fastest form of communication in which an arbitration agreement could have been concluded was via telegrams. The Convention requires written form for an arbitration agreement (clause) to be valid, but the electronic communication of our times had not…
A widespread debate on the legitimacy of (and backlash against) investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) has been on-going for several years now. Put colloquially, this debate asks essentially whether ISDS in its current form is capable of handling international investment disputes, generally, and such disputes that implicate a public interest element, in particular. Moreover, it…
On March 25, the European Commission issued a set of guidelines addressed to Member States, concerning foreign direct investment (FDI) from third countries and the protection of European critical assets. In face of the current crisis caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, the European Commission calls upon Member States to make full use of their…
The use of expert witness is common in international arbitration. Recent discussions amongst Chinese practitioners have centered on the case related to the world-famous Chinese athlete Sun Yang in which the WADA’s expert opinion was believed to be material to the ruling of the CAS tribunal (“WADA vs. Sun Yang”).1)CAS2019/A/6148, World Anti-Doping Agency v. Sun…
On 11 December 2019, the Advocate General Priit Pikamäe delivered its Opinion recommending the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) to declare that it does not have jurisdiction to rule in infringement of European Union (“EU”) law proceedings concerning the long-running border dispute between Slovenia and Croatia, which the CJEU endorsed in the…
The Paris Court of Appeal has recently sought a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the interpretation of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in the ongoing Republic of Moldova v. Komstroy case. A 20-Year-Old Tale The Republic of Moldova v. Komstroy case highlights the contradicting approaches to…
The Brazilian Arbitration Journal, in its 65th edition, presents, in the National Doctrine section, the reflections of João Pedro Accioly on the arbitrability of conflicts involving the government. In addition, Marcelo Levitinas and Luisa Cabral de Mello Marques Coelho propose a reasonable interpretation of article 10 of the Brazilian Arbitration Law, in regard to the…
“Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed”…and “walking away from something brings you towards it” (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll). The current worldwide outbreak forced by Covid-19 has…
There was a time when arbitrators were to a large extent immune from liability and could thus not be sued before national courts for damages caused to the parties to a dispute. This was true mainly in common law jurisdictions and was probably the case in most civil law countries as well. For instance, under…
In its unanimous decision in the Micula case the UK Supreme Court on 19 February 2020 made clear that ICSID arbitral awards rendered by tribunals established pursuant to intra-EU BITs could be enforced in the UK. As explained by Guillaume Croisant in his blog post on 20 February, the UK Supreme Court overruled the Court…
The significance of an arbitration agreement’s proper law cannot be understated, given its importance vis-à-vis the arbitration agreement’s validity and consequent implications on the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the arbitral award’s enforceability. Notwithstanding this, parties rarely specify the arbitration agreement’s proper law – hence the need for a clear legal framework governing its determination. In BNA…
On 28 January 2020, the arbitration panel has been formed in the dispute between the EU and Ukraine regarding Ukraine’s export prohibition of unprocessed timber. Notably, this is the first dispute between the EU and Ukraine under the Association Agreement (“EU-Ukraine AA”), and here, the EU invokes the dispute settlement mechanism provided by the free-trade…
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, Of Lighthouses and Rocks In his first message as ASA President, Felix DASSER points out the challenges and opportunities ASA faces during his term and sets priorities. …
In interpreting one of the most contested investment treaty protection standards – fair and equitable treatment – arbitral tribunals have increasingly referred to the necessity for an investor to conduct a due diligence investigation before investing in a host state. Foreign investors have been required to assess not only commercial, but also general socio-political risks….
COVID-19: Background and Impact on Foreign Investment in the Developing Countries As discussed on the Blog previously, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus named SARS-CoV-2, continues to rise globally, as shown on this page from the WHO. Today, the virus has already spread in Western Europe and the…
A California district court held in February that 28 U.S.C. Section 1782 could be used to seek discovery for use in a private, commercial arbitration, becoming the first district court in the Ninth Circuit to do so, and, following recent decisions in the Sixth and Fourth Circuits, potentially teeing up an even more pronounced split…
A decision by the Paris Court of Appeal rendered in 2018 rejected a request by the state of Cameroon for annulment of an arbitral award that had applied OHADA law over Cameroonian law (CA Paris 16/25484, 20 December 2018). The action for annulment had been brought by the state of Cameroon against three arbitral awards…
For the 35th Annual Joint Symposium of Arbitrators, the ICC Institute of World Business Law and the School of International Arbitration proposed a debate on the participation of “States and State Entities in International Arbitration”. This year, Herbert Smith Freehills hosted the event in London. First Panel: State Involvement in International Business and Trade…
The findings of the recent decision Ali Riza et al. v. Turkey (“Riza“) of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR“) dated 28 January 2020, when read in conjunction with the ECtHR’s previous decision Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland (“Mutu-Pechstein“) dated 2 October 2018 (which concluded the “Pechstein Saga”), could potentially have an impact on…
Although some might have considered 2019 a bit “lackluster”,1)Th. Clay, Panorama – Arbitrage et modes alternatifs de règlement des litiges: novembre 2018-décembre 2019, Dalloz, 26 December 2019. a number of noteworthy decisions by the Paris Court of Appeal and French Supreme Court have come to refine on the now well-established French case law on international…
We live in time when sanctions hit the headlines almost every quarter. Naturally, this frustrates contracts and creates additional causes for disputes. However, there exists uncertainty as to whether sanctions also render awards unenforceable on the grounds of public policy. As will be shown in this post, even within the supreme court of one country…
The Report on Online Dispute Resolution platform for consumers issued by the European Commission on 2 October 2019 concludes that “the ODR framework is underused and has yet to reach its full potential”. Against this background, the French legislator has taken a strong stance to promote the use of artificial intelligence and online dispute resolution,…
“I prefer to hope that this shift in perspective will be a chance for people, organisations, businesses, politics, whatever, to put so many of their ongoing disputes and conflicts aside because with this new perspective comes the realisation that these are not worth fighting. It is time to cooperate. May we go through and come…
Welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Ms. Letelier! We are grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of Santiago (“CAM Santiago” for its initials in Spanish), and its administration of complex disputes, as well as about the attractiveness of Santiago as seat for international arbitration. To start,…
