The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID“) recently published its Annual Report for FY2021 (available here), concluding a financial year with multiple record achievements amid the Covid-19 pandemic, including a record number of cases registered and the largest number of cases ever administered at ICSID in a single fiscal year. As ICSID optimises … Read more

In the recent case of Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals v Bank Frick & Co AG [2021] EWHC 3226 (Ch), the English High Court has held that a defendant’s application to stay court proceedings in favour of arbitration pursuant to s9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (Act) should be heard before its alternative summary judgment … Read more

In a recent decision that involved interlinked agreements containing different dispute resolution clauses, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance refused to stay court proceedings in favour of arbitration, on the basis that the centre of gravity of the dispute did not fall within the contracts that contained the arbitration agreement. Zpmc-Red Box Energy Services … Read more

The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong today published a report recommending that Hong Kong allow lawyers to charge success fees for arbitrations. The LRC report, entitled “Outcome Related Fee Structures for Arbitration”, proposes changing Hong Kong law to lift longstanding prohibitions on such fees, which are widely used in other arbitral seats. Read more

In a recent post, we considered the careful and considered approach taken by Australian courts in striking the balance between a pro-enforcement stance and critical due process safeguards when enforcing foreign arbitral awards. In Beijing Jishi Venture Capital Fund (Limited Partnership) v Liu [2021] FCA 477, the Federal Court of Australia maintained this balance by … Read more

In the recent case of EBJ21 v EB021 [2021] FCA 1406 award creditors sought recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award that had already been paid in time and in full. The award debtors resisted the application arguing that it was an improper attempt to circumvent the agreed upon confidentiality arrangement by bringing the dispute … Read more

HSF Partner and Deputy Head of Global Arbitration (West) Andrew Cannon will be participating as a panellist in the ‘Meet the LCIA European Users’ Group Council’ webinar on 13 December 2021 at 13:30 GMT. Read more

The Law Commission of England and Wales has today announced that it will conduct a review of the English Arbitration Act 1996, the principal legislation governing arbitrations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as part of its 14th Programme of Law Reform. The Law Commission has stated that the review aims to ensure that the … Read more