There has been a requirement in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) for witnesses to take an oath when giving their testimony in arbitration proceedings. Awards that relied on testimonies of witnesses who had not taken an oath were subject to nullification. There is currently uncertainty over whether witnesses are still required to take an oath in UAE-seated arbitrations. This blog post examines recent court decisions on this topic with the aim of shedding light on where UAE courts stand on this issue at present.   Legislation: Past and Present The requirement for taking an oath was set out ..read more

Following the recommendations of the Law Commission of the UK (here, here and here), the English Arbitration Act 1996 (EAA) is presently undergoing a substantial reform phase after nearly 27 years. The Arbitration Bill is now before the House of Lords. As appears from the Arbitration Bill and the Commission’s recommendations, the English arbitration law is going to expressly address the aspect of enforcement of the decision issued by an emergency arbitrator for the first time. The Arbitration Bill brings about some major clarifications in this area. With express provisions dealing with emergen ..read more

As citizens of more than 190 countries unite to commemorate Earth Day on 22 April, the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations (“CGA”) continues to progress its mission to guide the international arbitration community towards more sustainable practices. This year marks a milestone for the CGA as it celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Green Pledge. In this post, we review the history of the CGA, showcase its accomplishments over the past five years, and look ahead to forthcoming initiatives.   How It Started In 2019, the year before the pandemic, international arbitrator Lucy Greenwood looke ..read more

The Bahrain Court of Cassation (“COC”) in Case No. 53 of 2021 clarified the uncertainty surrounding the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The COC in this case established an expedited enforcement process of arbitral awards in Bahrain and confirmed that a decision of the Bahrain Court of First Instance (“CFI”) granting the enforcement of an arbitral award is final and not subject to any appeal. This approach has been followed in a number of recent decisions and has resulted in an enhanced enforcement process in line with the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and E ..read more

We are delighted to present the first issue of the ninth volume of the European Investment Law and Arbitration Review (EILA Rev). Regular readers will notice four significant changes: First, there is a new cover; second, there is a new publisher – we are delighted to work with Kluwer on this and the fact that not only the Review is now published by the leading arbitration publisher but also that all back issues and indeed all new issues are now available on: www.kluwerabitration.com; and third, as of 2024 there will be two issues annually, one published in the spring and one published in the a ..read more

Supply Chain Due Diligence (“SCDD”) laws, such as the German Lieferkettensorgfaltsgesetz, the recently approved EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”), represent a pivotal step toward fostering ethical supply chains, underscoring the shared responsibility of states and corporations in combating human rights violations. As an advocate for such laws, I recognise the urgent need to make supply chains fairer and more ethical. Simultaneously, I find it crucial to acknowledge the challenges corporations face in their efforts to i ..read more

Latvia’s status as the arbitration unicorn remains undisputed after nearly ten years since adopting the country’s first Arbitration Law (“Latvian Arbitration Law”). In February 2024, the overly liberal Latvian regime resulted in 57 arbitral institutions. This record-high number, however, is considerably less than the 214 arbitral institutions in Latvia in 2013. Although advertised by the Latvian government to follow the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, the Latvian regime was claimed to be the last of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe to not provide for se ..read more

In September 2021, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) issued Decree No. 34 of 2021 (“Decree 34”) by which the DIFC Arbitration Institution, the administering body of the DIFC-LCIA arbitration centre (“DIFC-LCIA”) was abolished with immediate effect, and all its obligations, rights, and resources were assigned to the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”). Decree 34 also provided that all DIFC-LCIA arbitration clauses concluded by 14 September 2021 (“Effective Date”) were deemed valid and to be replaced by DIAC, unless otherwise agreed. The impact of Decree 34 produced a ripple effect: f ..read more

For decades, modern international investment law and arbitration have provided both the procedural mechanisms and substantive grounds for States to advance counterclaims in such proceedings. Coupled with the increased inclusion of provisions on the State’s right to regulate and provisions concerning the substantive areas of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) in the latest generation of international investment agreements (“IIAs”) and domestic laws, there is great promise for successful ESG-related counterclaims. This blog post takes a trip down the rabbit hole to identify the proced ..read more

The global fight against climate change demands a swift transition to cleaner energy sources. Underscoring this urgency, the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (also known as the “Paris Agreement”) (“COP 28“), held in Dubai in November 2023, called for ambitious goals. At this conference, nearly 200 countries called for: tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030; accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power; phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive ..read more