In Koshigi Ltd and another company v Donna Union Foundation and another [2019] EWHC 122 (Comm) the English High Court considered an application for costs arising from discontinued proceedings under s.68 Arbitration Act 1996 to challenge two arbitral awards. The… Read more

The global financial markets are currently preparing for the phasing out of the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (or LIBOR) and other Inter-bank Offered Rates (or IBORs). LIBOR is the most widely used benchmark interest rate globally, employed in an estimated… Read more

The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and the International Bar Association (IBA) have launched a Joint Task Force on Data Protection in International Arbitration Proceedings. ... Read more

On 1 February 2019, CIETAC published its 2018 statistics and 2019 work plan. The statistics show a substantial increase in CIETAC's caseload and the total amounts in dispute, as well as a growing diversity of cases administered by CIETAC. CIETAC… Read more

In the recent decision of Sonact Group Limited v. Premuda SPA [2018] EWHC 3820 (Comm), the English High Court confirmed its pro-arbitration approach to the interpretation of arbitration agreements. The Court held that an arbitration agreement contained in a charterparty… Read more

AIIB and HKIAC are presenting a joint seminar on the AIIB’s status, policies and projects on 21 February. The seminar, which is supported by Hong Kong’s Department of Justice and the ICC, features: an interview with AIIB’s General Counsel, Gerard… Read more

The Tribunal in Gabriel Resources v Romania recently issued an order (the Order) in response to an application (the Application) made by three Romanian NGOs, as non-disputing parties, for participation and an amicus submission (the Submission) in an ICSID arbitration… Read more

We are delighted to share with you the latest issue of the publication from the Herbert Smith Freehills Global Arbitration Practice, Inside Arbitration. In addition to sharing knowledge and insight about the markets and industries in which our clients operate,… Read more

One of the Advocates General to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Advocate General Bot, has issued an opinion confirming that the mechanism for the settlement of disputes between investors and states provided for in the Comprehensive Economic… Read more

In December 2017, South Africa brought into law its first piece of legislation dedicated to international arbitration, the aptly named International Arbitration Act of 2017 (the New Act). The New Act The New Act incorporates the provisions of the UNCITRAL… Read more

Third party funding is a hot topic in Asia. As noted on this blog, Singapore introduced legislation in 2017 to allow third-party funding in international arbitration and associated proceedings, including enforcement and mediation. Hong Kong's funding legislation takes effect today.… Read more

Hong Kong's long-awaited legislation permitting third parties to fund arbitrations and related proceedings takes effect today. As heralded in our earlier posts, this is a widely welcomed development in one of the world's leading arbitral seats, and is expected to… Read more

In the recent landmark decision of Marty Ltd v Hualon Corp (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd [2018] SGCA 63, the Singapore Court of Appeal held that the commencement of court proceedings notwithstanding the existence of a binding arbitration agreement and without any… Read more

We previously reported here that a Geneva-seated UNCITRAL tribunal (the "Tribunal") constituted under the India-Germany Bilateral Investment Treaty dated 10 July 1995 (the "India-Germany BIT") found India in breach of its treaty obligations in relation to its cancellation of a… Read more

On 9 January 2019, Hong Kong's Department of Justice and the Ministry of Justice of Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to "strengthen collaboration on international arbitration and mediation". The MoC, a copy of which is available here, provides… Read more

At the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Malaysia Branch) International Arbitration Conference 2018, Peter Godwin, the Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills' Kuala Lumpur office gave a keynote address. The topic of the address was "Evolving Asia, New Frontiers in Dispute… Read more

After reluctantly issuing an initial stay of enforcement in July 2018, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance recently dismissed an application by China Zenith Chemical Group Ltd (CZ) to further delay the enforcement of an arbitral award in favour… Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court's first opinion of 2019, written by recently appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh, confirms the long-standing support of the Court for arbitrators to decide the issues of arbitrability of a dispute submitted to arbitration.  The unanimous ruling defends… Read more

The new Rules on the Efficient Conduct of Proceedings in International Arbitration (Prague Rules) launched last month in the Czech Republic and aim to provide a more efficient framework for arbitral procedure which can be used to streamline a dispute,… Read more

As discussed in this post, Xiamen Xingjingdi Group Co Ltd (XJ) and various co-defendants affiliated with Eton Properties Ltd (together, EP) have been involved in a long-running dispute in multiple fora, including a PRC-seated CIETAC arbitration and several Hong Kong… Read more

On 20 December 2018, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published updated guidance on the conduct of arbitration under its arbitration rules. The Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of Arbitration… Read more

The Supreme People's Court of China (SPC) has released a new set of judicial interpretations concerning interim injunction applications for intellectual property rights (IP Rights)-related disputes. The Provisions on Application of Laws in Adjudication of Action Preservation Cases Involving Intellectual… Read more

As discussed in our recent blog post, the Moscow Arbitrazh Court and appeal courts recently found that a reference to the arbitration rules of an arbitral institution was not sufficiently clear evidence that the parties had agreed on that specific… Read more

The English High Court has in the last few days proposed a procedurally strict approach to serious irregularity challenges under s68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 where these have already been dismissed on paper. The decision in Midnight Marine Ltd… Read more

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has revised its Guide to Arbitration (the Guide).  First published in 2013, after considerable stakeholder consultation, the Guide includes an explanatory memorandum which provides an overview of arbitration for parties to derivatives transactions,… Read more

Overview The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) has issued an announcement that it is (i) amending its two current sets of arbitration rules and (ii) introducing a revolutionary set of rules designed to provide efficient and cheap civil-law style arbitration.… Read more

The English High Court's decision in Asset Management Corporation Of Nigeria v Qatar National Bank [2018] EWHC 2218 (Comm), handed down in July 2018 but only recently published, concerned the court's dismissal on the papers of an application under section… Read more

As noted in our earlier post, Hong Kong published its long-awaited Code of Practice for Third Party Funding of Arbitration on 7 December 2018. Publication of the Code has removed the final hurdle to third party funding of Hong Kong… Read more

The English High Court has upheld a challenge to an arbitration award on the grounds of serious irregularity, in Fleetwood Wanderers Ltd (t/a Fleetwood Town Football Club) v AFC Fylde Ltd [2018] EWHC 3318 (Comm). The Court held that the… Read more

Hong Kong has published its long-awaited Code of Practice for third party funders, and announced that amendments to the Arbitration Ordinance which permit funding of Hong Kong arbitrations will come fully into force on 1 February 2019. Similar amendments to… Read more