The travel restrictions and social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought about an exponential increase of virtual get-togethers, including hearings via video conferencing in both litigation and arbitration proceedings. Courts and tribunals in England and Wales reported an increase of audio hearings by over 500% and video hearings by 340% during the…
Serafín García Armas and Karina García Gruber v. Venezuela and Clorox Spain v. Venezuela are different in many aspects. García Armas relates to dual nationality, while Clorox relates to protected investment. However, they have a common feature: Article 1(2) of the Spain–Venezuela BIT was key to their developments. That article defines investments as “any kind…
Travel and other restrictions due the COVID-19 pandemic have meant that virtual hearings have become the “new normal” for international commercial arbitration, and even perhaps for investor-state arbitrations. But what are the longer-term prospects for virtual hearings or “e-arbitration” more generally, and even for the relative popularity of arbitral seats, in the wake of the…
How severely are international construction projects affected by global COVID-19 pandemic? What does the COVID-19 pandemic mean for international construction disputes? As with so many other questions arising in relation to the pandemic, these questions will only be answered definitively in retrospect. For construction arbitration practitioners though, one of the immediate and graspable effects has…
On 10 July 2020, a panel of arbitration practitioners discussed the topic of “Recent Developments and Key Arbitration Trends in Asia” as part of the 2020 Paris Arbitration Week. The panel discussion covered the distinctive features of and the latest developments in five different jurisdictions: Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. Hosted by…
The third edition of the Jeantet “Arbitrating in CEE and CIS” roundtable was held virtually during the Paris Arbitration Week on Wednesday, 8 July 2020. The topic of this year’s edition laid stress upon “Do and Don’t’s When Choosing a Seat and Enforcing in CEE/ CIS/ Russia: State of Play”. Because of both the significant…
The 4th ICC European Conference on International Arbitration took place on Tuesday 7 July 2020, during the second day of the Paris Arbitration Week. This first-ever digital edition saw record numbers with 1,450 participants connecting from all corners of the world. Alexis Mourre, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, acknowledged in his welcome…
The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted discussions on online dispute resolution methods like no other phenomenon. With this, determining the proper seat for online arbitration has become the center of conversation. As the world adapted to the challenges presented by the pandemic, so too did international arbitration. Suddenly, there was a wave of virtual hearings, webinars and…
An award set-side underlines that it has been annulled in the jurisdiction in which it has been rendered. The grounds for setting aside an award are provided by the UNCITRAL Model Law and are quite similar throughout numerous jurisdictions. Article V of the New York Convention (‘NYC’) presents a set-aside award as one of the…
Most individuals with involvement in international arbitration—as a scholar, practitioner, arbitrator, or as a brave student participating in a moot competition—have cited Gary Born for some legal principle. Indeed, sometimes this name is cited by opposing sides in support of their contrary legal arguments. While this has been a common practice among students and, in…
In a recent decision, in Eiser Infrastructure Limited and Energia Solar Luxemburg S.À.R.L. v Kingdom of Spain (ICSID Case No. ARB/13/36), an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad-hoc committee decided to annul an award in its entirety. The reason being a conflict of interest. For the first time in ICSID’s history, an…
In a recent decision, National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) v. Alimenta S.A. (“NAFED”), the Indian Supreme Court (“SC”) refused to enforce a foreign award on the ground of it being opposed to public policy under Section 7 (1) (b) (ii) of the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act, 1961 (“the 1961 Act”)….
In addition to the serious implications for people’s health and public healthcare services, the COVID-19 pandemic also imposes challenges for the administration of justice. Increasing Demand for Amicable Methods of Dispute Resolution The current crisis creates a need for business and its legal representatives to consider carefully appropriate and alternative options for the efficient,…
Document production is widely regarded as one of the most time-consuming and costly elements of international arbitration.1)The 2018 International Arbitration Survey: The Evolution of International Arbitration by the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London and White & Case lists “cost” as arbitration’s worst feature, followed by “lack of effective sanctions during…
From practically the moment the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision in Uber Technologies v Heller was released, commercial arbitration practitioners and scholars—including on this blog—have criticized it for weakening the cherished competence-competence principle. We submit that those who defend Uber’s problematic arbitration clause in the name of protecting competence-competence love arbitration not wisely, but…
Despite the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has two arbitration courts – The Arbitration Court attached to the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina which has existed since 2003 and the Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration of the Republika Srpska (‘RS’) Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 1998 – arbitration still remains an…
In its 66th edition, the Brazilian Arbitration Journal presents, in the National Doctrine section, Bruno Pellegrini Venosa’s analysis about the interaction between the applicable law to the arbitral procedure and foreign arbitral urgent measures. In addition, Rafael Branco Xavier discusses the possibility of implementing the disregard doctrine in arbitration. In the International Doctrine section, Eugenie…
Arbitration in Japan recently received a domestic boost when two Japanese industry titans agreed to arbitrate their dispute over a South African coal plant, with claims worth several billion US dollars, before the JCAA. However domestic arbitration in Japan tends to be used sparingly and this is often cited as a reason for many Japanese…
While Hong Kong and Singapore legislated in 2017 to allow third party funding of arbitrations (“TPF”),1)In Hong Kong, the amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) ultimately took effect in February 2019. both jurisdictions presently still bar “No-Win, No-Fee” and other outcome related fee arrangements between parties to arbitration and their lawyers. This is out-of-step…
A special COVID-19-themed SIAC Philippines webinar took place on 18 June 2020. The webinar examined the availability of interim relief to parties to commercial disputes, both in international arbitration and through courts in the Philippines and Singapore, with the panel members sharing their observations on trends and changes since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic….
This post analyses the recent developments in enforcement of foreign awards in India that were discussed during the Delos’ Tagtime webinar by Mr. Gourab Banerji SA.1) who was “tagged” by Sir Bernard Eder. Mr. Banerji then “tagged” his colleague from the Nigerian Bar Ms. Funke Adekoya SAN to appear in the next Tagtime webinar by…
Three recent decisions of the Courts of Appeal in Singapore and England (BNA v BNB and another [2019] SGCA 84 (“BNA v BNB”); Kabab-JI S.A.L v Kout Food Group [2020] EWCA Civ 6 (“Kabab v Kout”); and Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi A.S. v OOO “Insurance Company Chubb” and others [2020] EWCA Civ 574 (“Enka v…
While the hurdles of virtual hearings have been documented with numerous intelligible solutions, little attention has been turned towards how advocacy is faring in the offline-online migration. It is an attractive notion to think that advocacy, in its subjective glory, can be seamlessly transplanted from the offline world and into the virtual dimension with little…
Mr. Schiefelbein, welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog! We are grateful to have the opportunity to share your unique perspectives with our readers. Please give our readers a brief introduction to yourself and your route to becoming CEO of the SVAMC. Following law school I was in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s…
