The Delhi Arbitration Week (“DAW”) 2024 that took place from 6 to 10 March 2024 featured two panel discussions that focused on emerging issues such as state owned entities (“SOEs”) and the role of technology in arbitration. The panel discussions came into play at a time when there have been significant developments and challenges globally and in India regarding SOEs and technology (discussed here and here respectively) in international arbitration. This post covers the discussions of the two panels, “The State of Arbitration – Navigating an Arbitration Involving State-Owned Entities” (“SOE Pan ..read more

The Delhi Arbitration Weekend (“DAW”) 2024 that took place from 6 to 10 March 2024 witnessed two back-to-back panels on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”). These sessions deliberated on the past, present and future of ISDS from an Indian and global perspective. This post captures the discussions from the two ISDS panels at the DAW titled, “Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in 2024” (“First ISDS Panel”) and “Where do We Stand: Revisiting the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Mechanism in the Light of Today’s Economic Challenges” (“Second ISDS Panel”). The First ISDS Panel ..read more

The Delhi Arbitration Weekend (“DAW”) returned for its second edition from 6 to 10 March 2024. For the first time, the event received the patronage of the Supreme Court of India, with Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, serving as one of the keynote speakers and the Patron-in-Chief for the DAW. Other keynote speakers included Justice Judith Prakash, Senior Judge, Supreme Court of Singapore, and Justice Manmohan, Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi. Spanning five days, the DAW featured training sessions catering to the needs of a diverse audience and external receptions to bring togethe ..read more

ICCA is delighted to open its 26th biennial Congress in Hong Kong today. The Congress, taking place from 5 to 8 May 2024, consists of today’s opening ceremony, followed by three full days of engaging sessions for participants and speakers. For over 60 years, ICCA has been bringing the international arbitration community together to discuss pressing issues in the field. This year, the event is hosted by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, marking the second event held by ICCA here. In a discipline traditionally centered on procedural exactitude, objectivity, and rational thought, th ..read more

The Editorial Board of Kluwer Arbitration Blog announces the opening of the following position with Kluwer Arbitration Blog: Assistant Editor for South Asia. Experience and knowledge in international arbitration in, and related to, India is required, and broader expertise in international arbitration is a plus. The Assistant Editor reports directly to the coordinating Associate Editor and is expected to (1) collect, edit, and review guest submissions from the designated region for posting on the Blog, while actively being involved in the coverage of the assigned region; and (2) write blo ..read more

On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament voted for the EU to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). Three days earlier, Ecuador had voted to keep the country’s constitutional ban on investor-state arbitration. These events mark the last chapters in the increasingly turbulent tale of investment treaties and investor-state arbitration. Over the past few years, that tale has progressed toward a tipping point. Efforts to modernize the ECT surfaced vigorous public opposition against the treaty, and cases like Rockhopper v. Italy and Eco Oro v. Colombia fueled fears that investment arbitr ..read more

In Carmichael Rail Network Pty Ltd v BBC Chartering Carriers GmbH & Co KG [2024] HCA 4 (“Carmichael v BBC”), the High Court of Australia (“High Court”) upheld a stay of proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia (“Federal Court”) in favour of a London Maritime Arbitrators Association (“LMAA”) arbitration seated in London. This unanimous judgment of Australia’s highest court reflects the continuing confidence of the Australian judiciary in international arbitration. The High Court considered the proper construction of Article 3(8) of the Hague-Visby Rules as incorporated into Australian ..read more

2023 saw India take focused steps to strengthen and fortify its stand as a champion of arbitration, promoting a hands-off judicial approach in favor of arbitral autonomy. The year started with the Indian Supreme Court’s first step in NTPC Limited vs SPML Infra Limited, where the Supreme Court categorically held that a tribunal is the first point of reference for determining arbitrability unless the facts, ex facie, demonstrate otherwise. This was followed by the second step in Cox and Kings Limited. v. SAP India Private Limited, where the Supreme Court cemented the ‘Group of Companies’ doctrin ..read more

The Editorial Board of Kluwer Arbitration Blog announces the opening of the following position with Kluwer Arbitration Blog: Assistant Editor for East and Central Asia. Experience and knowledge in international arbitration in, and related to, Korea is required, and broader expertise in the regions is a plus. The Assistant Editor reports directly to the coordinating Associate Editor and is expected to (1) collect, edit, and review guest submissions from the designated regions for posting on the Blog, while actively being involved in the coverage of the assigned regions; and (2) write blog ..read more

In a recent judgment dated 14 March 2024, European Commission v UK Case C-516/22, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled that the UK failed to comply with its obligations under EU law (the “CJEU Judgment”). A casual reader may wonder how this could be. After all, the UK officially left the EU in January 2020. The answer is that the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU required the UK to comply with its EU law obligations during a transition period that ended on 31 December 2020 (see Arts. 86(2) and 127(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement). During this transition period ..read more