On 24 May 2018, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center (“HKIAC”) released the caseload statistics Report for 2017, revealing the highest number of HKIAC arbitration cases ever administered. HKIAC reported a total of 532 new cases filed in 2017, which is 15.7 % more than in 2016 (see Report for 2016). This is the highest […]
Contributory Negligence in Investment Arbitration
Contributory negligence in investment arbitration (also known as “contributory fault”) corresponds to situations where an injured party has materially contributed, by a negligent (or wilful) act or omission, to the damage caused by an internationally wrongful act of a State. The contribution of the injured party is, therefore, taken into consideration by arbitral tribunals in […]
International Arbitration in Pakistan
International arbitration in Pakistan was long governed by two acts: The Arbitration Act 1940(AA) and the Arbitration (Protocol and Convention) Act, 1937(APC). When enforcing foreign arbitration agreements and foreign arbitral awards that met certain criteria, Pakistani Courts applied the APC, otherwise they applied the AA. The Courts, however, failed to apply criteria consistently. Furthermore, disputing […]
Vodafone versus India Investment Treaty Arbitration
The Vodafone versus India investment treaty arbitratoin has its origins in 2007 when Vodafone acquired a majority stake in India’s Hutchison Essar[1]. It was a Cayman island transaction. Essentially, Vodafone used the tax haven to escape the jurisdiction of India’s tax authorities. Retroactive Taxation It was therefore unsurprising when, in 2012, the Indian Supreme Court […]
Interim Measures by Emergency Arbitrators under the SCC Arbitration Rules
The SCC Arbitration Rules, as well as other leading arbitration rules, allow parties to an arbitration agreement to obtain interim measures in an expedited manner, even before an arbitral tribunal is in place, by appointing an Emergency Arbitrator (Appendix II to the SCC Arbitration Rules, Article 1(1)). After the decision on interim measures is rendered, […]