“the money’s not about the money…The key to settlement lay not in the realm of calculation and rationality but in the more opaque social world of face, punishment, justice and emotion.” Charlie Irvine in Not about the money? The end of 2019 and the start of 2020 offered a rich variety of posts on the…
The automatic stay provisions in the Indian arbitration regime have been a matter of a long debate. At first blush, the automatic stay seems like the perfect protection mechanism for any award debtor; however, it often puts the award creditor in a difficult spot. Arbitral awards rarely go unchallenged in India. The automatic stay provision…
Since 2014, the Casablanca Arbitration Days (CAD) have no doubt become one of the most attended arbitration-related events in Africa. Organized on 5-6 December 2019 at Kenzi Tower Hotel Casablanca by the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (CIMAC), this year marked the fifth edition of CAD under the topic ‘Investing and Doing Business in…
In a ruling of 11 December 2019 (see Cassation No. 8/2019 (JT) – Al Taena: AF Construction Company LLC (formerly Al Futtaim Carillion – Abu Dhabi LLC v. Power Transmission Gulf), the Dubai-DIFC Joint Judicial Tribunal, also commonly known as the “Judicial Tribunal” or simply the “JT”, was required to deal with the conflicting jurisdiction…
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on his recent visit to India in January 2020 remarked that the 21st century belongs to India. If that is true, it would also mean a flurry of disputes involving some Indian angle are inevitable and will keep the arbitration industry busy. Thus, even though 2019 may have drawn curtains over…
“Recourse to arbitration has now become a right of the competent ministry with the agreement of the Ministry of Finance. Whereas recourse to arbitration was previously an exception, now, this is a clear confirmation by the government of the importance of arbitration and the government’s commitment to participate in more rapid, cost-effective litigation.” – Saudi…
As UNCITRAL Working Group III is proceeding to address concrete proposals to reform treaty-based investor-state arbitration, the future of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is at a historic juncture. Reform proposals include both incremental changes to investor-state arbitration and proposals for further institutionalization, such as the call of the European Union (EU) to establish a Multilateral…
This is the 1st part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) issued in 2019. Arbitrability In the decisions 4A_244/2019 and 4A_246/2019 of 12 December 2019, the Supreme Court dealt with the issue of arbitrability. In two arbitrations brought before a tribunal…
This is the 2nd part of the report highlighting the most significant arbitration related decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) issued in 2019. Ne Eat Arbiter Extra Petita In the decision 4A_294/2019 / 4A_296/2019 of 13 November 2019, the Supreme Court dealt with an extra petita appeal against an ICC-award….
Several developments in 2019 highlighted the increased presence of human rights considerations in international investment law. As described by our contributors, however, tensions persist. The 2019 Netherlands Model Agreement, released in March, represented a notably progressive approach to reflecting human rights considerations in foreign investment, as explained by our contributors. This development builds on related…
The Finland Chamber of Commerce has recently revised its Arbitration Rules and the Rules for Expedited Arbitration to address the growing demands of the competitive world of commercial arbitration, as reported by the Arbitration Institute of the Finland Chamber of Commerce ( “FAI” or the “Institute”) in its article from December 2019. The revised Rules,…
Questioning About the (Inexorable?) Future Could artificial intelligence (AI) carry out decision-making? Is it just a matter of time? Will AI replace human arbitrators? Further, will emotional intelligence always trump AI, or will AI enhance the arbitral process? Despite the topicality of the subject, the arbitration rules remain silent about AI. However, there is also…
2019 was an important year for international arbitration developments in the United States, both in the commercial and investment context. Some of the more far-reaching developments included the deepening circuit court split on whether “manifest disregard” of the law is a grounds to refuse enforcement of an award, the first U.S. Court of Appeals decision…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Markus PETSCHE, Restrictive Interpretation of Investment Treaties: A Critical Analysis of Arbitral Case Law This article critically discusses the recourse to the principle of restrictive interpretation (in dubio mitius) by treaty-based investor-state arbitral…
Introduction The Society of Construction Law India and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators India Branch together held an International Conference on Construction Law and Arbitration in New Delhi, India in December, 2019. The conference was well attended by practitioners and participants from various jurisdictions. Needless to say, the construction industry is one of the fastest…
Consolidation of arbitral proceedings is commonly regarded as a procedural device designed to deal with the challenges associated with complex cases. It is a method that combines multiple proceedings and harmonizes the final outcome of the disputes that bear significant resemblance, thus eradicating the risk of having contradictory awards rendered on a closely related set…
The recent public hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (‘CAS’) involving the World Anti-Doping Agency (‘WADA’) on one side, and the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and the Federation Internationale de Natation (‘FINA’) on the other, has been plagued with controversies. In the anticipation of the award (expected in early 2020), this seems to…
Recently, the Center for International Investment & Commercial Arbitration inaugurated its Young Arbitration Group in Pakistan in a conference which attracted foreign panelists who efficaciously explained the theory and practice of international arbitration, highlighting the room for improvement in Pakistan. This has been summarized in a prior post on the Blog, which also explained that…
For a number of years, most Hungarian domain name disputes have been decided by an Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum (hereinafter: ‘Forum’) operated by the Council of Hungarian Internet Providers (‘Internet Szolgáltatók Tanácsa’, abbreviated as ‘ISZT’). Although the procedure conforms to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names…
On September 10, 2019, in considering an interlocutory appeal to stay arbitration proceedings, the Espírito Santo Court of Appeals decided to grant an exception to the competence-competence principle on grounds that the arbitration agreement was prima facie “manifestly illegal”. (Interlocutory Appeal No. 0013950-80.2019.8.08.0012, injunctive relief issued on September 10, 2019). Background In 2001, the…
The dilatory tactics of some claimant parties in conducting arbitration proceedings can often be frustrating and can result in unnecessary costs and expenses. In the judgment of Jaks Island Circle Sdn Bhd (“Jaks Island”) v. Star Media Group Bhd (“Star Media”) and AmBank (M) Berhad (“AmBank”) [Originating Summons No.: WA-24C(ARB)-11-02/2018] issued in 2019, the Malaysian…
Gong Xi Fa Cai! The Year of the Earth Pig has drawn to a close. In what was certainly an auspicious and lucky year for arbitration developments in East and Central Asia, we take a closer look at five key developments: 1. Initiatives in PR China to boost arbitration In southern coastal China, the…
Two and a half decades have passed since Hungary harmonised its arbitration law with UNCITRAL Model Law (‘Model Law’) in 1994. This marked a giant leap forward, especially as the adopted provisions were made applicable not only in international, but in purely domestic arbitrations as well. This post analyses the Hungarian case law on setting…
How is the content of laws determined, and by whom, in international commercial arbitration? This topic mainly concerns an old legal assumption: iura novit curia, the Latin legal maxim for “the court knows the law”. While somewhat reasonable and predictable on the face of it since anyone can reasonably expect the court to know the…
