International arbitration does not lack critics. A particularly common criticism is the absence of cultural and ethnic diversity among arbitrators. In the words of Sarah François-Poncet of Salans, some twenty years ago, the usual suspects are ‘pale, male, and stale’. Despite numerous initiatives to support and encourage diversity, and the diversification of the pools from … Read more
London-based Partner Andrew Cannon and London-based Senior Associate Hannah Ambrose have authored an article for Lexis®PSL, discussing the English court’s approach to the service of documents on a state. The full article is presented here, and can also be accessed via our Public International Law blog. Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills invites applications for internships with the firm’s international arbitration group in Hong Kong. Four internship positions are available; each for three to four month periods (not extendable). Interns will work alongside our international arbitration team and will have a varied workload, including assistance with current arbitrations and other client work; arbitration-related … Read more
It is an oft-repeated rule that only signatories to an arbitration agreement can be made party to arbitration proceedings. To this end, various jurisdictions have considered situations where an arbitration clause can be ‘extended’ to a third party, and arbitral institutions have also introduced rules to ‘join’ third parties to arbitration proceedings, subject to the … Read more
In the recent case of ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC v Kansanshi Holdings PLC & Anor [2019] EWHC 1285 (Comm), the English Court (the Court) rejected a challenge under s.68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) and provided useful guidance on the test for determining whether a tribunal’s decision qualifies as an award for … Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills is now accepting applications for two internship opportunities in our international arbitration team in London. The programme offers aspiring arbitration lawyers a chance to work within one of the world’s leading specialist arbitration groups. The two paid internships are for three months each, starting in September 2019 and December 2019. Interns will … Read more
The Hong Kong SAR Government and China’s Supreme People’s Court today signed a mutual assistance pact on interim relief in support of arbitration. For the first time, Mainland Chinese courts will be able to order interim measures in support of Hong Kong-seated arbitrations. This historic agreement makes Hong Kong SAR the only seat outside the … 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 generate considerable activity. If you have questions on the new law, funders’ Code of Practice, … 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. In its introduction to an initial call for public comments on the drafts, the JCAA … Read more
