Analytics
In high-stakes scenarios, ensuring organisations and legal teams have readily available, expert resources can be the difference between success and catastrophe. Legal teams can maximize their resources by...
We are unfortunately all complicit in having a negative impact on the environment – some to a greater, some to a lesser extent. Some professions and industries are leaving a heavier carbon footprint than others and the legal industry is...
The principal law in England and Wales in respect of arbitration is at present the Arbitration Act 1996 (the "Arbitration Act"). Here we will provide a short overview of practice in respect of two important questions...
First proposed in 1990, at the European Energy Council in Dublin, the European Energy Charter was transformed into a legally binding document – the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT or Treaty) in 1994...
The German perspective on arbitration is mainly formed by the rules of biggest German arbitral institution, the German Arbitration Association (DIS-Rules), by statutory provisions and by the court practice...
Missing most deadlines in our society can be forgiven or excused. For example, being late for work might get you a warning from your boss, but it typically won’t cost you a job...
In the practice of international maritime shipping, a letter of undertaking is widely used to guarantee the security of obligations and protect the debtor from possible actions of the creditor...
While many dispute resolution practitioners from civil law jurisdictions are no strangers to contractual adjudication of construction disputes, very few have dealt with a statutory construction adjudication in their practice...
Learn from a recent case much discussed in Russian legal media, where the courts amended an ICC arbitration clause. Back to Instar Logistics v. Nabors Drilling International Limited...
Efficiency has long been one of the main concerns of users of arbitration generally, with the cost consistently rating as the arbitration's worst feature. This is especially so in respect of construction disputes...
Covid-19 and the worldwide restrictions imposed as a result are inevitably having an impact on whether court deadlines can be met. What if you need to make an application for an extension of time as a result?
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) today is one of the largest economies in the Middle East. The country has earned its economic success not only through the export of oil or providing foreign investors with a favorable tax regime...
The article provides an overlook of the arbitration legislation in Kazakhstan after the reform of the judicial system held in April 2016. The description of...
It is hardly surprising that there are a significant number of arbitrations for oil-related matters, particularly in CIS countries. This stems from...
This article will analyze a series of events, scandals, cases and initiatives that took place in the Republic of Peru as of 2019 to date, which are related to allegations of corruption brought against several Peruvian arbitrators by the company Odebrecht...
An overview on “Toolkit for Arbitrators” regarding issues of corruption and money laundering by Mark Pieth, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of Basel...
The article provides an analysis of four recent corruption cases regarding the standard of evidence when corruption is alleged...
CMOC v Persons Unknown is a new international cyber-crime precedent. The plaintiff had to chase and serve legal notice to 30 respondents in multiple jurisdictions worldwide. The case was touched upon in May 2019 issue of Arbitration.ru dedicated to collecting bad debts and fighting international fraud...
On 12 September 2019, Mr Justice Phillips, sitting in the High Court in London, issued a judgment in terms of the LCIA Arbitration award obtained by United Petroleum Trading (UK) LLP (“UPT”) against Dragon Oil (Turkmenistan) Ltd (“Dragon”), the largest crude oil producer in Turkmenistan...
The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce launches the SCC Platform – a digital case management system for all cases administered by the SCC...
20 years ago, it was impossible to believe a person would one day be able to fly without plane or parachute, yet this day came on 14 July 2019 when the French inventor Franky Zapata flew above the crowd on his Flyboard in Paris at the military parade on the National Day...
The Eastern European Dispute Resolution Forum (EEDRF) was held in Minsk. The inspirer and co-chair of the organizing committee is Alexandre Khrapoutski, partner at Lex Torre Law Office (Belarus), Vice Chairman of the RAA board, member of the UAA board, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb, London)...
The article is based on the Keynote address by Alexis Mourre, President of the International Court of Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), at GAR Live Istanbul 20 June 2019. He adresses the legitimacy of arbitral institutions, the market in which they operate, and the role they need to fulfil to ensure the integrity of arbitration as a global system of justice...
The article provides an analysis of legislation and rules which govern arbitration in China as well as gives an example of a case...
The expanding Chinese economy and emerging cross-border opportunities make of the Chinese parties frequent users of international arbitration. The arbitrations with a Chinese element are not unfamiliar to French courts. While the parties’ nationality is not a source of differentiation before French courts, it might give rise to specific concerns at various stages of the courts’ intervention...
The second part of the article (continued from previous issue of Arbitration.ru, August 2019) covers disputes over representations, warranties, indemnities, governing law and other aspects of M&A deals. The first part of the article was dedicated to disputes related to timing and pricing of company transferring.
The principal goal of the Russian arbitration reform was the establishment of a "normal, world-class system of arbitration", what should be understood as referring to such centers of international arbitration as England, France, Switzerland, the USA, Germany, Sweden, Singapore and Hong Kong (the countries of the "First Group"). Unfortunately, the measures introduced in Russia as a result of the arbitration reform were borrowed from the practice existing not in countries of the First Group, but in those of the Second one-Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Bahrain, Ukraine, Latvia and Uzbekistan.
Doran Doeh has pursued a successful legal career of over 40 years in the UK and Russia and was Senior Counsel in Dentons’ Moscow office before returning back to London. He was named “Eminent practitioner in Energy and Natural Resources in Russia” by Chambers Global and Europe 2018...
As formal dispute resolution (i.e. arbitration) is beginning to mirror litigation in both time and expense, lawyers practicing in the international marketplace should examine other ADR options to better serve parties in a dispute. One alternative involves, in essence, the same individual acting in the capacity of both mediator and arbitrator...
The article focuses on the reasoning behind a number of landmark court decisions in this area, including Taurus Petroleum Limited v. State Oil Marketing Company of the Ministry of Oil, Republic of Iraq and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines v F.G. Hemisphere Associates LLC and attempts to define the key factors which influence judicial decisions...
Editor’s note: Hereby we publish the second part of the article by Doran Doeh, an internationally renown arbitrator who has pursued a successful legal career of over 40 years in the UK and Russia and was Senior Counsel in Dentons’ Moscow office...
The importance of the history and origin of arbitration cannot be overstated. Pearl S Buck has stated that “if you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday”. An examination of the background presents a platform for understanding the prevalence of certain practices in present-day Malaysia as compared to the position globally...
This article examines the recent practice of the English courts, which shows a continued willingness to provide vital assistance in investigating fraud claims and concealed assets, even when the connection to the UK may be limited...
Arbitration law in Malaysia is governed by the Arbitration Act 2005 (also the "AA"). This came into force on 15 March 2006, and repealed the outdated Arbitration Act 1952. In a significant departure from its original framework, the AA is modeled on the UNCITRAL Model Law...
In 2011 – 2012 the Russian National Committee of the ICC conducted a survey called “Russia as a Place for Arbitration”. During the time that passed since this study, many events have occurred, including the imposition of sanctions by a number of Western countries against certain individuals and companies from Russia. In addition, an arbitration reform was carried out, and one of its goals was to strengthen Russia’s position as a possible place for international arbitration...
As part of our collaboration with Interfax Europe Corporate Risk and Due Diligence Division, we would like to present you essential results of media monitoring conducted using the Interfax Scan system. The monitoring included more than 20 RAA-related keywords and expressions both in Russian and English and covered media space in Russia and abroad...
The adoption of the UNCITRAL Model law in 1985 and continuous recognition by Asian governments of the nature and potential benefits of arbitration as a method for resolving private disputes galvanized the development of arbitration in Asia...
The French law No. 2016-1691 on transparency, anti-corruption and the modernisation of the economic life (hereafter “the Sapin 2 law”) was primarily aimed at reforming French anti-corruption laws. Some important alterations relating to measures of constraint available over State assets were included in the raft of reforms...
France has always played an important role in promoting the global development of international investments. Since the middle of the twentieth century, France has expanded its regional investment outreach to all of the world’s continents. Currently, France is a party to 115 Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”) with 94 of them in force and 56 Treaties with Investment Provisions (“TIPs”)...
Annual caseload reached a good level:
In 2018, 62 new cases were filed with the FAI, a figure close to the average level seen in the last decade, with record highs in 2013 (80 cases) and 2017 (79 cases).
The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) is one of the world’s leading institutions for dispute resolution. From 2012 to 2016 the SCC administered 465 domestic and 478 international disputes.
On 21 November 2018, the Swedish legislature passed a revised Swedish Arbitration Act ("SAA"). The proposed amendments are intended to make the arbitration process more efficient and moreeasily accessible, especially for foreign practitioners, ensuring that Sweden continues to be an attractive venue for international dispute resolution. The revised SAA is set to enter into force on 1 March 2019.
Many years ago I heard a remarkable story from a seasoned arbitrator; this was from a time when he acted as counsel for a claimant party in a major arbitration at a seat which was not his home seat. At the end of the arbitration – when sitting in his hotel room in the evening – there was a knock at the door and it appeared that one of the arbitrators wanted to raise an issue with him.
England ranked third in the prevailing number of arbitral awards brought for R&E in Russia in the period 2008 to 2017, shows the RAA Study on the application of the New York Convention. With large amounts of wealth from CIS countries accumulated in the UK, potential litigants can face a situation when they will be deprived of their funds on demand of national authorities.
The New Year 2019 came to Russian arbitration community with a new set of amendments to Russian arbitration law. The changes concerned corporate disputes, ad hoc arbitration, and procedure for obtaining licenses by institutions.
On 24 October 2018 a regular annual meeting of the ICC Central and Eastern European Institutional Arbitration Group was held in Paris (France).
Among the cases decided during last years, two decisions of the Austrian Supreme Court (the “OGH”) are of particular practical relevance. First, it ruled that an award cannot be set aside if it is clear from the reasoning of the award that the violation of the right to be heard or the procedural ordre public was irrelevant to the outcome of the decision...
At its 50thsession (3-21 July 2017), UNCITRAL granted its Working Group III (WG III) a mandate to: (i) identify and consider concerns regarding ISDS; (ii) consider whether reform was desirable in light of any identified concerns; and (iii) if the Working Group were to conclude that reform was desirable, develop any relevant solutions to be recommended to the Commission...
In the normal course of arbitral proceedings, the experts’ role is often described as expressing an opinion about a specific matter of high technicality within their sphere of competence. Put another way, their role is to assist the Tribunal on specific and often complex matters that are not easily understandable by individuals outside that sphere of technicality.
The approach of the arbitral institutions to digital evidence is of special interest because of the general focus of Belarus on the involvement of high technologies in different economic spheres and the current development of Belarus as an IT-country...
Until the beginning of 1995, only international trade disputes could be brought before an arbitral tribunal. This changed on 1 January 1995 when the Czech Act No. 216/1994 came into force, replacing the previous Act No. 98/1963. After the entry into force of this law, arbitral proceedings slowly gained popularity and in recent years, arbitral proceedings have become a popular method of resolving civil disputes.
In recent years the draft Prague Rules on the Efficient Conduct of Proceedings in International Arbitration ("Prague Rules", see http://praguerules.com/prague_rules/) has been hotly debated in various places across the world (see http://praguerules.com/events/). Whilst the number of supporters is growing, it is impossible to ignore also the criticism of this initiative coming from our colleagues http://praguerules.com/publications/. For instance, some opponents of the Prague Rules even call them a "little monster", regressive and dangerous.
The so-called Prague Rules were published in draft form very early on. Since then, there have been a number of revisions with updated drafts being published. This was perhaps one of the reasons why they attracted so much attention (primarily in the form of criticism) from the arbitration community.
The importance of international arbitration in resolving international commercial disputes is evidenced by its wide use and popularity. The cornerstone of success for international commercial arbitration is the consensual nature of such proceedings...
The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 1958 (New York) celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018 (“Convention”). The USSR ratified the Convention on 22 November 1960. The Russian Federation, as a successor of the USSR, continues to be a Contracting State...
The English Court of Appeal has recently considered the scope of the public policy exception to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in RBRG v Sinocore. Its decision provides a timely reminder of the English courts’ non-interventionist approach and the deference they will give to findings made by foreign tribunals...
On November 1, 2018, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is launching its new Arbitration Rules (the Rules). The Rules were approved by the HKIAC Rules Revision Committee which was chaired by Nils Eliasson. The following amendments to the Rules are worth special attention.
Arbitrability of disputes relating to intellectual property rights (“IPRs”). Can disputes relating to IPRs be finally resolved by arbitration? This question is often encountered because IPRs are meant to be enforceable against the world at large, whereas arbitral awards only operate to bind the parties to the arbitration...
In accordance with new law enacted during arbitration reform, foreign arbitral institutions shall obtain special permission of the Russian government in order to administer arbitration in Russia.
The Swiss government is proposing a “light” revision of Swiss international arbitration law as contained in Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act. The Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), after liaising with Swiss arbitration practitioners, participated in the official consultation process and submitted its comments in May 2017.
Taxpayers faced with taxation of their income by more than one country, or with other cross-border tax controversies, can either pursue domestic remedies before the national courts or resort to the so‑called Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) under the applicable tax treaty.
In a Yukos-related case, the Swiss Supreme Court held that an interim award on jurisdiction may not be sought to be set aside if the arbitral tribunal has not taken a final decision on its jurisdiction but only addressed some of the jurisdictional objections in the interim award, leaving the other objections to be decided in the final award together with the merits of the case.
It became a common place in arbitration world that clients are not happy about the way arbitration procedure evolved over the past few decades. From a flexible and commercially-oriented process it turned into the lawyers-driven and overly judicialized one, with many written and unwritten rules of the game...
This introductory article considers a series of disputes related to the complex commercial relationship between Naftogaz and Gazprom. No attempt is made to provide a comprehensive overview of the facts and legal arguments arising in these high profile disputes...