The draft 7th edition of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Rules was recently released for public consultation from 22 August 2023 to 21 November 2023.[1] According to the SIAC, the draft draws from the SIAC’s experience of administering more than 3,000 international cases under the SIAC Rules 2016, which involved parties from 106 jurisdictions across a range of seats and governing laws. The key proposed changes to the SIAC Rules Implementation of a new case management system (i.e., SIAC Gateway) – Rule 4.2 The SIAC Gateway is likely to make it easier for all parties and ..read more

In the coming months, Baker McKenzie will host a series of virtual seminars on arbitration: Arbitration Lunch Break. Our lawyers and guests will discuss the practical aspects of each step of arbitration proceedings, from the drafting of an arbitration agreement to the enforcement of an arbitral award. Our experts will start with arbitration’s cornerstone: the arbitration agreement. The arbitration agreement is where parties register they wish to submit disputes to arbitration, and where the parties agree on how they will do so: one or three arbitrators? Institutional or ad-hoc arbitration? Ins ..read more

Introduction English courts recently heard and determined three separate applications with near mirroring facts for anti-suit injunctions (“ASI“) brought by (i) Deutsche Bank, (ii) Commerzbank and (iii) an unknown entity given anonymisation of the judgment, all brought against RusChemAlliance LLC (“RCA“), a Russian entity in which Gazprom has a direct interest. All three cases relate to proceedings RCA initiated in Russia in breach of the relevant arbitration agreements. The application for ASI was refused in respect of case (i) at first instance but granted upon appeal, granted at first insta ..read more

The introduction of amendments to the UAE Federal Law No. 6/2018 on Arbitration (the “Arbitration Law”) in September 2023 has been the highlight of the arbitration landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Arbitration Law – largely based on the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law – applies to arbitrations seated in the UAE (other than in the financial free zones) or otherwise subject to UAE law. Arbitrations seated in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) are subject to separate laws and regimes. Most of the changes incorporate recent developm ..read more

This article examines the issue of serving by electronic means under the Hague Convention, including whether email service is permitted in countries that have specifically invoked their right under the convention to object to service by mail. In detail: According to the U.S. Supreme Court, compliance with the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Hague Convention) is mandatory in all cases to which it applies. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694, 705 (1988). In this column, we look at the issue o ..read more

First Kuwaiti Gen. Trading & Contracting W.L.L. v. Kellogg Brown & Root Int’l, Inc., No. 1:23-mc-1 (E.D. Va. May 12, 2023)[1] Factual Background Petitioner First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting W.L.L. (“FKTC”) and Respondent Kellogg Brown & Root International, Inc. (“KBR”) entered into various logistics contracts during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. FKTC experienced increased costs while performing some of the work, which was memorialized by two change orders, and KBR agreed to reimburse FKTC’s costs in the amount of roughly $48 million.   Several disputes arose ..read more

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of First Instance (DIFC Court) has considered in its recent Order of 19 September 2023 in Muhallam v Muhaf [ARB 021/2022] (Order) whether a provisional award introducing interim measures is enforceable in the DIFC as an “award”. The dispute centred around the controversial issue of whether interim awards are final awards capable of recognition, including under the New York Convention. The DIFC Court held that interim awards could be recognised in the DIFC. Factual Background The DIFC is a freezone within the Emirate of Dubai, which has its ..read more

Baker Hughes Servs. Int’l, LLC v. Joshi Technologies Int’l, Inc., Nos. 21-5072 and 21-5081 (10th Cir. July 13, 2023)[1] Plaintiff, Baker Hughes Services International LLC (“Baker Hughes”), after winning an Ecuadorian arbitration against the Ecuador-based Pesago Consortium, secured an arbitral award enforceable jointly and severally against the Consortium’s two members—Joshi Technological International, Inc. (“Joshi”) and third-party Campo Puma Oriente S.A. Baker Hughes then brought its award to Oklahoma and sued Joshi to confirm the award in the United States. The district court confirmed the ..read more

In a landmark judgment issued on 6 September 2023 in (1) Sandra Holding Ltd (2) Nuri Musaed Al Saleh (together the “Respondents“) v. (1) Fawzi Musaed Al Saleh (2) Ahmed Fawzi Al Saleh (3) Yasmine Fawzi Al Saleh (4) Farah El Merabi (together the Appellants) [2023] DIFC CA 003 (the “Judgment”), the DIFC Court of Appeal (CA) has overturned a Worldwide Freezing Order (WFO) issued by the Court of First Instance on the basis that the DIFC Courts did not have the jurisdiction to grant the WFO against the parties who had no jurisdictional nexus to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The J ..read more

This article examines the issue of serving by electronic means under the Hague Convention, including whether email service is permitted in countries that have specifically invoked their right under the convention to object to service by mail. In detail: According to the U.S. Supreme Court, compliance with the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Hague Convention) is mandatory in all cases to which it applies. Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694, 705 (1988). In this column, we look at the issue o ..read more