OHADA, Paris Court of Appeal, Primacy of International Law, Public Policy, Supranational Order, Uniform Acts

(Shearman & Sterling)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Confidentiality, Corruption, public-private partnership, state-owned, States

(Clyde & Co LLP)/ /Leave a comment

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…

European Court of Human Rights, Independence and Impartiality, Sport arbitration, Turkey

, (Archipel)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Corruption, Document Production, France, French Supreme Court, Independence and Impartiality, International arbitration, Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, Paris Court of Appeal, Set aside an arbitral award, State Immunity

(Terrien Avocat)/ /Leave a comment

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…

Enforceability, Public Policy, Russia, Sanctions, Ukraine

(Kulkov, Kolotilov and Partners)/ /Leave a comment
Young ICCA

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…

Arbitration, Artificial Intelligence, France, Online Arbitration, Online Dispute Resolution

(CastaldiPartners)/ /Leave a comment

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,…

ADR, Brazil, COVID-19, Greece, Kluwer Mediation Blog, Mediation, Singapore, Singapore Mediation Convention, Uzbekistan

(Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London)/ /Leave a comment

“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…

Arbitration institution, CAM Santiago, Chile, COVID-19, Interviews with Our Editors, Latin America

(Locke Lord LLP) and (Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

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,…

Expropriation, Investment Arbitration, Investor-State arbitration, Minimum Standard of Treatment, Most Favoured Nation (MFN), National Treatment, Non-Disputing NAFTA Parties, Non-Disputing Parties, United States

(US Department of State)/ /Leave a comment

In 2019, the United States (‘U.S.’) made six non-disputing Party submissions in investment treaty arbitrations, three of which took place under the NAFTA (Lion Mexico Consol. L.P. v. Mexico; Vento Motorcycles, Inc. v. Mexico; and Tennant Energy, LLC v. Canada), and one each of which took place under U.S. agreements with Korea, Peru and Panama (Jin Hae…

COVID-19, Investment Arbitration, Investment protection, Investor-State arbitration

(Georgetown Law)/ /Leave a comment

Extraordinary Times  These are extraordinary times in many regards. The spread of novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), now considered a pandemic, continues to have a significant global impact on several fronts. For States, the pandemic of course presents significant public health challenges. As we are seeing, it also presents significant economic challenges, due to the convergence of…

ADR, Arbitration Industry, Arbitration institution, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Belt Road Initiative, Case Management, China, CIETAC, Conciliation, Domain Names, Hong Kong, Interim measures, Interviews with Our Editors, Jurisdictional challenge, Macau, Mediation, Taiwan, Tribunal Secretary

(Peter & Kim)/ /Leave a comment
CIETAC Hong Kong Arbitration Center

Dr. Li Hu is Deputy Secretary-General of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”), Vice Chairman of China Maritime Arbitration Commission, and also Board Member of the Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. He has authored several publications on dispute resolution in China and has served as arbitrator in over 120 domestic and…

Due process, Malaysia, Set aside an arbitral award

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

Due process paranoia remains a live issue in international arbitration. Arbitrators can feel under pressure to fulfil their duties to give parties an opportunity to present their case whilst also ensuring that they produce an enforceable arbitral award. This concern to be seen to have delivered due process can arguably be increased when coupled with…

Arbitration, Early Dismissal, SIAC

, / /Leave a comment

Introduction Rule 29 of the 2016 SIAC Rules (“SIAC Rules”) introduced a procedure for enabling an ‘early’ dismissal of claims and defences. Rule 29 is akin to summary judgment and striking out in common law courts. It is aimed at allowing a tribunal to dismiss patently unmeritorious claims and defences without having to conduct full-fledged…

New York Convention, New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, Pacific Islands, Palau

, (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 March 2020, the Republic of Palau (“Palau”) became the 163th state to accede to the United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the “Convention”).1)The authors were engaged by the Asian Development Bank (“ADB”) as part of a team of experts to advise on Palau’s accession to the Convention…

Arbitration, India, Investment agreements, Investment law, Investment Treaties, Reform

and (Columbia Law School)/ /Leave a comment

On 25 January 2020, India and Brazil signed an investment agreement  (the “India-Brazil BIT”). As an agreement that has been signed at the dawn of the new decade, it is symbolic for a few reasons. First, it is a south-south agreement between two large and growing economies. Second, it abandons investor-state arbitration in favor of…

COVID-19, International Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Investment protection, Investor, Investor-State arbitration

, (Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP)/ /2 Comments

In response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis, States around the world have taken a variety of measures seeking to stem the spread of COVID-19 and to provide for medical supplies and protective equipment, including emergency declarations empowering governments to take control of private businesses, closure of borders, quarantines, stay-at-home orders, suspension of mortgage and utility…

Abu Dhabi, ADGM, DIFC, Dubai, Free Trade Zones, MENA, Middle East, UAE

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

As some readers of this blog will, no doubt, be aware, free zone arbitration is a comparatively recent phenomenon that has been championed in particular by the UAE in order to create an alternative to arbitrations seated onshore. By way of reminder, in the UAE, free zone arbitrations are seated in one of the judicial…

Abu Dhabi, ADGM, DIFC, Dubai, Free Trade Zones, MENA, Middle East, UAE

(Blanke Arbitration LLC)/ /Leave a comment

This is Part 2 of a blog published in two parts. Part 1 dealt with the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court of First Instance (“ADGMCFI”)’s rulings in A3 v. B3 [2019] ADGMCFI 0004 (4 July 2019), enforcing an ADGM arbitration agreement, and in A4 v. B4 [2019] ADGMCFI 0007 (8 October 2019), enforcing a foreign…

Arbitration, Arbitration Act, Arbitration Institutions and Rules, Confidentiality, Due process, KCAB, South Korea, Technology, Videoconferencing

and (KCAB Next)/ /Leave a comment

Significant advances in technology over the last decade have made videoconferencing a viable alternative to traditional, in-person witness examinations in arbitration. As the use of videoconferencing in international arbitration grows more common, we must ask ourselves: do we have the right tools to eliminate the risks that arise with this new technology? This question led…

Arbitration Agreement, Arbitration Agreements, Arbitration Awards, Arbitration clause, Claims Trading

(Bottega Di Bella)/ /Leave a comment

This post examines the admissibility of investment claim assignments based on the notion of Investor-State arbitration where there is no contractual relationship between the disputing parties. To do so, it draws on Jan Paulsson’s famous article titled Arbitration Without Privity.   Contract Assignments, Assignment of Claim and Arbitration Agreements The assignment of international contracts is…

COVID-19, MENA, Middle East, Moot Courts, Videoconferencing, Vis Moot, Willem C. Vis Moot

(Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution), (Commercial Law Development Program of the US Department of Commerce), and (CILE; Reed Smith LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The Middle East Vis Pre-Moot Program (the “Program”), scheduled in Bahrain from 10 to 14 March 2020, was prepared and excited to welcome over 200 students, faculty, and lawyers to celebrate the Program’s 10th anniversary. However, on 25 February, amid the unfortunate COVID-19 global pandemic, Bahrain took precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the…

Armesto Schedule, Document Production, Efficiency, IBA Rules of Evidence, Procedural Fairness, Redfern Schedule

, (Armesto & Asociados)/ /1 Comment

Many will shy away from this article on account of its mere title. This is understandable considering that document production tends to be seen as a nightmarish phase in arbitration for junior, senior lawyers and arbitrators alike. This is because, if not handled properly, document production can turn into a very costly and time-consuming exercise….

Achmea, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, ICSID, Intra-EU BITs, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration, Investment Arbitration

(delegaltessen) and (Stampa Abogados)/ /Leave a comment

The aftermath of Achmea Since the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Achmea, defending EU Member States and the European Commission have questioned the validity of the application of the investment arbitration clause in the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to intra-EU disputes. Although the motions to challenge jurisdiction on…

Investment Arbitration, Investment law, Peru

(CML Arbitration)/ /1 Comment

On February 4, 2020, ICSID registered a request for arbitration submitted by the company Odebrecth Latinvest Sarl, a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of the Brazilian company Odebrecht SA, against the Republic of Peru (ICSID Case No. ARB/20/04). This post analyzes the background to this dispute, as well as the possible strategies that the parties could use during…