The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to lead many corporations to insolvency, as well as trigger an increase in the number of commercial disputes. Consequently, it is likely businesses will have to face more arbitrations with insolvent entities, or arbitrations brought by bankruptcy trustees, when the right to maintain and dispose […]
Enforcement of Arbitration Awards
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards against State Assets: Sovereign Immunity in the United States
The main issue related to enforcement of an arbitral award against a State in the United States is the State’s sovereign immunity. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), foreign sovereigns enjoy immunity from jurisdiction, a presumptive immunity from suit in U.S. federal and state courts, and immunity from execution, whereby their property is immune […]
Intra-EU Arbitrations and the Enforcement of ICSID Awards in the United States: the Impact of Achmea
The ICSID Convention requires signatories to treat arbitral awards rendered according to the ICSID framework as if they were a final judgment of a court in that State.[1] To challenge an award, the claimant shall seek review within the ICSID arbitral regime, rather than before State courts.[2] To implement the Convention, the U.S. Congress in […]
Intra-EU Investment Arbitration: Impact of EU Member States’ Declarations in the Wake of Achmea
In Achmea,[1] the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to assess the compatibility of the dispute resolution clause contained in the Netherlands-Slovak Republic BIT with EU law. In March 2018, the CJEU held that the clause was incompatible based on the threat posed to the constitutional structure and autonomy of the […]
UNCITRAL Drafts for a Convention on the Enforcement of Mediation Settlement Agreements and for a Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL”) Working Group II approved final drafts for a Convention on the Enforcement of Mediation Settlement Agreements (hereinafter “the draft Convention”) and for a Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (hereinafter “the Mediation Model Law”). While these instruments need to […]
William Kirtley Discusses Enforcing Arbitral Awards against State Assets with Russian Newspaper
Arbitration lawyer William Kirtley has been interviewed by the Moscow-based newspaper Novaya Gazeta regarding the enforcement of arbitral awards against State assets. In the Russian-language article, concerning a USD 1.3 billion award to Ukraine’s Oschadbank for compensation for loss of assets in Crimea following annexation of the peninsula in 2014, William Kirtley explains that it is far […]
Resisting the Enforcement of Arbitral Awards: Article V(1)(a) of the New York Convention
According to Article III of the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention“), courts of a Contracting State have the obligation to recognize and enforce an arbitral award. However, it must be borne in mind that the latter have the possibility of refusing the recognition and execution […]
Enforcing an Investment Arbitration Award: When States Refuse to Pay
Enforcing an investment arbitration award against a sovereign State is not easy. It is particularly hard when that State firmly refuses to pay after losing an arbitration. Such a situation is obviously problematic for an investor. An investor must spend considerable resources, usually in the realm of millions of dollars, prior to receiving a favorable […]
International Arbitration in V4 Countries
V4 Countries, also known as the Visegrad Group, is a political and cultural alliance formed in 1991 by four Central European countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. International arbitration in V4 countries is not a centralised matter. Consequently, this area is subject to the legislation of each State. This blog provides a […]
