{"title":"Betamax: Has The Privy Council Gone Too Far In Seeking To Ensure That The Second Look Test Does Not Become A Second Guess Test?","authors":"T. Granier, J. Grierson","doi":"10.54648/joia2021037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021037","url":null,"abstract":"Questions of public policy often arise in international arbitrations, including, in particular, issues of competition law and corruption. Arbitrators’ power to adjudicate these issues is conditional upon national courts’ power to review such issues when faced with annulment applications and/or objections to enforcement applications (the ‘second look’ test). However, national courts are divided as to whether, when doing so, they should be allowed to second-guess an arbitral tribunal’s decision on whether there has been a breach of international public policy. In its recent decision in Betamax, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the highest court of appeal for Mauritius, constituted of members of the UK Supreme Court) came down very firmly against second-guessing. After having presented the different approaches that various jurisdictions have adopted on this issue, this article proposes that national courts should be allowed to further inquire into and potentially second-guess arbitrators’ decisions on issues of international public policy, provided that the party applying for the setting aside of the award establishes before the competent court a strong prima facie case that there has been illegality such that recognising or enforcing the award would give rise to a breach of international public policy.\u0000Betamax, Public policy, corruption, bribery, money laundering, competition law, illegality, setting aside of arbitral awards, enforcement proceedings","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42071598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preliminary References to the European Court of Justice by Arbitration Tribunals","authors":"M. Broberg, N. Fenger","doi":"10.54648/joia2021030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021030","url":null,"abstract":"When a court or tribunal of an EU Member State is faced with a dispute which gives rise to questions concerning the interpretation or validity of an EU legal measure that must be answered in order for the national court to render its decision, Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union lays down that, prior to delivering its judgment, this court or tribunal may seek a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice. With the increased importance of EU law within those legal fields where arbitration is often used and with the growing number of arbitration proceedings, the preliminary ruling procedure may also be valuable to arbitration tribunals. However, the European Court of Justice has shown a pronounced reluctance when it comes to allowing arbitration tribunals access to use the preliminary reference procedure. This article provides an up-to-date examination of the Court of Justice’s approach to preliminary references from arbitration tribunals, and it considers the pros and cons of opening more up for such tribunals using the preliminary reference procedure.\u0000European Court of Justice, EU law, Preliminary references, Arbitration tribunals, Article 267 TFEU","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41976253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Applicability of the Russia-Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty to Crimea in the Light of the Duty of Non-recognition in International Law","authors":"Felix Krumbiegel","doi":"10.54648/joia2021031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021031","url":null,"abstract":"According to international law, Russia’s territorial claim over Crimea shall not be recognized as it was brought about by a violation of the prohibition of violence. Despite this obligation, several arbitral tribunals have recently accepted jurisdiction in claims brought by Ukrainian investors under the Russia-Ukraine BIT and declared the Russia-Ukraine BIT applicable. I consider the arbitral tribunals’ reasoning to be inconsistent with the duty of non-recognition. Therefore, I analyze possible alternative ways in which Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian investors can obtain protection for their investments in Crimea under the Russia-Ukraine BIT without implicitly recognizing Russia’s territorial claim over Crimea.\u0000International Investment Law, Duty of non-recognition, Crimea, Annexation, Jurisdiction ratione loci","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47422991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘If Everyone Is Thinking Alike, Then No One Is Thinking’: The Importance of Cognitive Diversity in Arbitral Tribunals to Enhance the Quality of Arbitral Decision Making","authors":"Nathalie Allen, Leonor Díaz Córdova, N. Hall","doi":"10.54648/joia2021029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021029","url":null,"abstract":"The popularity and longevity of international arbitration depends heavily on the quality of arbitral awards, the arbitral process, and the tribunals appointed by practitioners and institutions. In this article, the authors argue that practitioners and institutions need to consider a more diverse range of candidates for arbitrator appointments, to enlarge and diversify the pool of arbitrators. Not only does diversity make sense from an ethical standpoint, but research has also shown that increased cognitive diversity is required to reduce the risk of biased decision making and improve the quality of awards. More cognitively diverse arbitral tribunals are therefore necessary to preserve the continued legitimacy and success of international arbitration.\u0000diversity, cognitive diversity, arbitrator appointment, groupthink, biases, attitudinal bias, confirmation bias, anchoring bias, egocentricity bias, Halliburton","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47716516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Limits to Party Autonomy in Appointing Counsel in International Commercial Arbitration","authors":"Mikhail Batsura","doi":"10.54648/joia2021032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021032","url":null,"abstract":"The right of a party to appoint its own counsel is an integral aspect of party autonomy and one of the fundamental rights enjoyed by the parties in international arbitration. However, party autonomy is not absolute and has its limitations. This article discusses whether the parties are free to appoint their legal counsel or face any applicable restrictions when making such appointment. The article invites a discussion on an existence of the immutability principle in international commercial arbitration and its tension with party autonomy in the selection of legal counsel (if any). Finally, the article proposes possible solutions for regulation of a party’s right to appoint a counsel of choice.\u0000international commercial arbitration, party autonomy, due process, right to appoint a counsel, arbitral tribunal, immutability principle, inherent powers, IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration, LCIA Rules: General Guidelines for the Authorised Representatives of the Parties, disqualificationMikhail Batsura","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47315205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Time Limit to Set Aside an Award Under Article 34(3) of the Model Law: A Comparative Study","authors":"M. Hwang, Kevin Tan","doi":"10.54648/joia2021028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021028","url":null,"abstract":"The time limit to set aside an award under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law is three months. Although Article 34(3) of the Model Law does not appear to confer upon domestic courts discretion to extend this time limit, some exceptional decisions from Asian Model Law jurisdictions suggest that such discretion exists. This article argues that, notwithstanding these decisions, domestic courts do not have any discretion to extend the time limit to apply to set an award aside. This article also highlights certain recurring fact patterns commonly seen when parties try to argue in favour of such a discretion, and studies how the courts in various jurisdictions have treated these similar situations.\u0000Article 34 Model Law, Article 34(3) Model Law, Article 5 Model Law, Setting aside of award, Challenge of award, Annulment of award, Time limit for application, Time bar to application, Three months, 28 days","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48966016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"To Stay or Not to Stay? A Clash of Arbitration and Insolvency Regimes","authors":"Darius Chan, Sidharrth Rajagopal","doi":"10.54648/joia2021023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021023","url":null,"abstract":"In the wake of the global Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a rise in creditorinitiated winding-up proceedings is likely to be impending in coming years (See e.g., RCMA Asia Pte. Ltd. v. Sun Electric Power Pte. Ltd. [2020] SGHC 205). At the same time, geopolitical developments, such as the scale and ambition of Belt & Road Initiative projects, have raised questions over the issue of debt sustainability. Given the prevalence of arbitration clauses in modern international commercial and project agreements, the interplay and relationship between insolvency and dispute resolution, and especially arbitration, requires careful attention. While the intersections between the arbitration and insolvency regimes are numerous and multi-faceted, (Jennifer Permesly et al. ‘IBA Toolkit on Insolvency and Arbitration’ International Bar Association (March 2021), www.ibanet.org/LPD/Dispute_Resolution_Section/ Arbitration/toolkit-arbitration-insolvency.aspx (accessed 18 April 2021) the impact of an arbitration clause on winding-up petitions has attracted recent case law. The English, Hong Kong, and Singapore courts have each taken differing approaches to the question of how to deal with winding-up petitions presented over disputed debts that are subject to an arbitration clause. On one end of the spectrum, the Hong Kong courts currently appear to prefer a relatively more creditor-friendly approach. On the other hand, the Singapore Court of Appeal recently laid down a relatively more debtor-friendly approach. Undertaking a comparative analysis of the approaches taken by different common law jurisdiction, this article argues that the Singapore Court of Appeal’s approach is preferable. However, at least for courts in United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law jurisdictions (or jurisdictions where the mandatory stay regime of the Model Law is adopted), they ought to find that a disputed debt subject to an arbitration clause falls within the scope of the mandatory stay regime under the Model Law. This article further suggests a possible way in which the approach of the Singapore Court of Appeal can be reconciled with the mandatory stay regime under Singapore’s enactment of the Model Law.\u0000 mandatory stay, triable issues, Salford, standard of review. insolvency, VTB, Lasmos, prima facie, Tomolugen","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42622624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: International Commercial Arbitration: A Handbook, 2d Edition. Stephan Balthasar eds, C.H. Beck-Hart-Nomos: Munich. 2021.","authors":"Finn Zeidler, Annekathrin Schmoll","doi":"10.54648/joia2021027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021027","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45617680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The 1933 Directives on Arbitration of the German Reich: Echoes of the Past?","authors":"G. Born","doi":"10.54648/joia2021022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021022","url":null,"abstract":"In 1933, the National Socialist government of the German Reich issued a collection of directives regarding the use of arbitration to resolve disputes, focused specifically on disputes between the Reich and private parties. The 1933 Directives made a number of general criticisms of the arbitral process as a means of adjudication, and relied upon these criticisms to significantly restrict the use of arbitration to resolve disputes with German state entities. The Reich Directives provide a neglected, but instructive, historical perspective on arbitration law and practice in Germany, both in the 1930s and before. At the same time, parts of the 1933 Directives also have unmistakable parallels to current debates about investor-state and commercial arbitration. Among other things, the Directives contain recommendations regarding the drafting of arbitration agreements and the conduct of arbitral proceedings which, while in some areas out-dated, could in other respects be mistaken for current discussions regarding best practices in international commercial and investment arbitration. More importantly, the Directives’ criticisms of the arbitral process, and the National Socialists’ rationales for those criticisms, have striking analogues to aspects of contemporary debates about investment arbitration and proposals to abandon or restrict investment arbitration. Those parallels raise important, if uncomfortable, questions about these contemporary critiques and proposals for reform.\u0000investor-state, arbitration, ISDS, criticism, Achmea, directives, Germany, National Socialism, history","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46365183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent Efforts to Curb Investment Treaty Shopping: How Effective Are They?","authors":"Bianca Böhme","doi":"10.54648/joia2021025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54648/joia2021025","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years it can be observed that states increasingly introduce explicit limitations to the practice of treaty shopping in their investment agreements. Accordingly, substantive ratione personae requirements, denial of benefits clauses, and anti-circumvention clauses are often included in newly signed investment treaties. In addition to these new drafting trends, arbitral tribunals have developed an implicit limitation in the form of the abuse of process doctrine to sanction the most egregious forms of treaty shopping. While these drafting trends as well as arbitral practice can curb undesired treaty shopping to a certain extent, this article argues that only a multilateral reform effort is able to truly prevent this practice from occurring.\u0000Treaty Shopping, Nationality Planning, Corporate Structuring, ISDS Reform, UNCITRAL, Ratione Personae Requirements, Denial of Benefits Clauses, Abuse of Process","PeriodicalId":43527,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Arbitration","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41500233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}