– By Meenal Garg Keywords: Energy Charter Treaty, Denial of Benefits, Article 17, Investor, European Union I. Introduction Bilateral and multilateral investment treaties (“BITs” and “MITs”) usually have broad definitions of ‘investor’. Historically, one of the reasons for such a broad definition is to provide a greater incentive to a prospective investor to invest in the host state etc. However, as the jurisprudence evolved, multinational companies started taking advantage of such definitions due to their cross-border operations. In other words, investors planned their corporate structures to ..read more

– By Avni Singhania Keywords: Signature, Arbitration Awards This is the second part of a two-piece article on importance of signatures in arbitration agreements and awards. The first part of this article consisting of a jurisdictional comparative analysis on the need for parties’ signature to validate the arbitration agreement can be found here – https://investmentandcommercialarbitrationreview.com/2022/03/to-sign-or-not-to-sign-part-i/ Arbitration Awards India United Kingdom United States Singapore Japan France Switzerland India Section 31 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ma ..read more

– By Avni Singhania Keywords: signature, arbitration agreements The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) mandates the agreement to be in writing under Section 7 of the Act. Section 7(4) of the Act states that the document shall be signed. An invalid arbitration agreement can forfeit a person’s statutory right to approach the Court when a dispute arises. Thus, it is important to understand the role a signature plays in a valid arbitration agreement.  Even though the role and effect of a signature are so important, surprisingly, there is not much discourse with respect to t ..read more

– By Avni Singhania Keywords: signature, arbitration agreements The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”) mandates the agreement to be in writing under Section 7 of the Act. Section 7(4) of the Act states that the document shall be signed. An invalid arbitration agreement can forfeit a person’s statutory right to approach the Court when a dispute arises. Thus, it is important to understand the role a signature plays in a valid arbitration agreement.  Even though the role and effect of a signature are so important, surprisingly, there is not much discourse with respect to t ..read more

Keywords: public policy, cross border insolvency, enforcement, foreign awards The Economic Survey 2021-2022, tabled in the Parliament on 31st January, 2022 ahead of the Budget Session 2022, features issues relating to cross-border insolvency raised by the Insolvency Law Committee (“ILC”) in its report in October 2018. It notes the absence of a standardized framework for cross border insolvency and highlights the need to incorporate these draft provisions as suggested by the ILC. Further, the Finance Minister, while discussing the Union Budget 2022-2023, stressed on the need to enable cross bor ..read more

Keywords: enforcement, arbitration, interim relief, emergency awards Introduction The Indian Supreme Court’s verdict in Amazon v. Future Retail [1] has brought the enforceability of emergency orders in India into the limelight. The case recognized that in Indian seated arbitrations, emergency orders are enforceable under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”). The case, however, does not address the enforceability of emergency orders passed in foreign-seated arbitrations. The current law in India is that there is no avenue for direct enforcement for such emergency ord ..read more

Keywords: AfCFTA Agreement, Agreement, The Protocol, Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), State Parties, Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Abstract This paper is a commentary on the place of investor-state dispute settlement under the auspices of the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA (“AfCFTA Agreement” or “Agreement”) establishes a protocol for the settlement of disputes. This piece begins by describing how the Agreement was conceived and the impact it will have for the continent particularly with respect to dispute settlem ..read more

Keywords: arbitration, decision to arbitrate, commence arbitration Introduction Arbitration has become a preferred mode of dispute resolution, and therefore, it is common for companies to incorporate an arbitration clause in their contracts. There seems to be growing consensus that arbitration is a far more streamlined and friendly alternative to court proceedings, especially for international contracts. It also has the added benefit of being customizable and confidential. However, not all disputes are arbitrated. There is a significant decision-making process that precedes a decision to comme ..read more

Keywords: investor-state mediation, diplomacy, UNCITRAL Working Group III, ISDS Introduction The growing interest within the international legal community for the use of investor-state mediation has led to several significant developments in the world of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). Such developments include the creation of investor-state mediation specific rules, guidelines, and clauses within international investment agreements and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), as well as the current Working Group III discussion on ISDS taking place under the auspices of UNCITRAL. These ..read more

Keywords: jurisdiction, preliminary ground, tribunal discretion, award Introduction Similar to Article 16 of the UNCITRAL Model Law (“Model Law”), Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”) empowers the arbitral tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction, following the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz. However, unlike Article 16(3) of the Model Law, which provides that a plea challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal may be decided either as a preliminary issue or in an award on the merits, Section 16 of the Act is silent on the stage at which such a plea should be d ..read more