Provisional measures can be an effective instrument to protect parties’ rights in arbitration. Although there is no widely accepted definition, provisional measures are, in general terms, remedies or relief whose purpose is to safeguard parties’ rights. In international arbitration, institutional rules are generally silent as to the standards and principles for the granting of provisional […]
The Timing of Payment of Arbitration Advances on Costs
The payment of advances on costs in arbitration aims to ensure that an arbitral institution has sufficient funds to cover the payment of arbitrators’ fees and expenses, as well as costs incurred in the administration of arbitral proceedings. The advances on costs paid to arbitral institutions do not include party costs, such as legal fees […]
Drafting an Arbitration Clause in 2021 – Recommendations
Many parties fail to realize that the wording of an arbitration clause is important for arbitration to function smoothly. In practice, one may observe, however, recurrent scenarios where arbitration clauses contain defective wording and, thus, are subject to unnecessary incidents and procedural debates. Such clauses are called “pathological clauses“. They are defined in Fouchard, Gaillard, […]
Rome I, Rome II, Applicable Law and International Arbitration
The relevance of the Rome I and Rome II Regulations for determining the law applicable to the merits of an international arbitration is a hotly-debated issue. Within the European Union (“EU”), Regulation (EC) No. 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (“Rome I”)[1] and Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual […]
Initiating Arbitrations Under Multiple Arbitration Agreements
The filing of arbitrations based on multiple arbitration agreements, contained in two (or more) separate contracts, in a single arbitration proceeding may be possible, but must be done with caution. The development of major projects in the fields of engineering, construction, oil and gas, and mining often give rise to situations where related disputes regarding […]