On 26 November 2019, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Minister of Finance (Inc) and another v International Petroleum Investment Company and another. The appeal addressed the ambit of the supportive powers of the English courts over English seated arbitrations, and the proper approach when issues of fact arise for determination both in a court claim invoking that supervisory jurisdiction and a new arbitration. Continue reading
States and state enterprises are frequent users of international arbitration. Their involvement is by no means restricted to arbitration under public international law. Indeed, as the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR reported in 2017, approximately 10% of ICC arbitrations involve a state or a state entity. That being said, and regardless of the nature of the proceedings (commercial or treaty-based arbitration), an award creditor seeking to enforce an award against a state holding assets in Switzerland will be subject to requirements different than those applicable if its debtor was a private entity. This is because, under Swiss law, foreign states benefit from immunity which protects them and their assets. Continue reading
On 12 November 2019, Quadrant Chambers held its biannual international arbitration seminar. The topic for discussion and debate was “ICSID arbitration in the age of populism: the case for reform”. The panel event was chaired by Ruth Hosking of Quadrant Chambers and the speakers were Emma Johnson, partner at Ashurst; Guy Blackwood QC of Quadrant Chambers and Timothy Foden, partner at Lalive. Continue reading
If modern international arbitration is considered to stand on two fundamental pillars (the New York Convention 1958 and UNCITRAL Model Law 1985), then its success is relatively recent. Continue reading
This is Part 2 of a two-part blog dealing with the first arbitration-related rulings of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) courts. In Part 1, I reported on a ruling of 4 July 2019, which dealt with the enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate in the ADGM (see A3 v B3 [2019] ADGMCFI 0004 (4 July 2019)). The ruling discussed here (A4 v B4 [2019] ADGMCFI 0007 (8 October 2019)) addresses the enforcement of a foreign LCIA award under the New York Convention. Continue reading
In November this year, the UK Supreme Court heard the appeal in the Halliburton v Chubb, which has been the subject of much scrutiny by the arbitration community recently. Continue reading
With thanks to Olivia Turner, trainee solicitor in the International Arbitration and Construction Disputes Group at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP for co-authoring this blog.
The way we communicate is changing. Just as email replaced the letter, social media and instant message platforms are increasingly being used for work-related, as well as social, communications. In some regions of the world and industries, applications such as WhatsApp and WeChat have become the standard method of communication for all types of dealings and transactions. There is therefore an increasing amount of information stored on these platforms. Continue reading
All I want for Christmas
Is my arbitration award,
My arbitration award,
Just my arbitration award.
Gee, if I could only have
My arbitration award,
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas.
It seems so long since third party funding,
Investment treaties, rules, seats and enforcement.
Gosh, oh gee,
How happy I’d be,
For the tribunal’s endorsement.
All I want for Christmas is my arbitration award,
My arbitration award,
Just my arbitration award.
Gee, if I could only have my arbitration award,
Then I could wish you Merry Christmas.
The Practical Law Arbitration Blog will resume in early January 2020. Until then, from the Practical Law Arbitration team, thank you to all of our contributors for another packed year of excellent commentary, to you for reading, and Happy Holidays one and all.
2019 proved another busy year for arbitration lawyers, with the biggest story (again) being the European Commission’s drive to reshape the international system for the settlement of investment disputes (ISDS). We summarise the major stories of 2019 and set out what we can look forward to in 2020. Continue reading
US courts have long grappled with the issue of whether the doctrine of forum non conveniens applies in proceedings to confirm a foreign arbitration award. Continue reading