In this NAFTA case, Claimants included Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., a Canadian corporation involved in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products, Messrs. Jerry Montour and Kenneth Hill (Canadian nationals) and Mr. Arthur Montour, Jr., of Seneca Nations Territory, Perrysburg, New York. The Claimants filed arbitration claims against several States of the USA […]
UNCITRAL Arbitration
HULLEY ENTERPRISES LIMITED (CYPRUS) V. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (PCA CASE NO. AA226) – FINAL AWARD 18 July 2014
The Yukos group of companies, whose controlling shareholders were OAO Yukos Oil Company, Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus), Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) and Veteran Petroleum Limited (Cyprus), was supposed to benefit from tax exemptions. However, in 2002, these exemptions were revoked at the Closed Administrative Territorial Units (“ZATOs”). Then, starting in 2003, Yukos suffered […]
BG GROUP PLC. V. REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA – CASE NO. U.S. 12-138 (2014) – U.S. SUPREME COURT
In this dispute, the Claimant was part of a consortium owning majority shares in MetroGas, for the distribution of natural gas in Buenos Aires. Before the 2001 financial crisis, Argentinean law provided that gas tariffs were calculated in US dollars for profitable returns. However, the crisis led to emergency measures, one of which implemented a […]
The Presumption of Separability in International Arbitration
The presumption of separability in international arbitration means that the validity of an international arbitration agreement is separate and analyzed independently from the rest of a contract. It may be the case that only the arbitration agreement itself is valid while the rest of the contract is not, or vice versa. This presumption is recognized […]
Bias in International Arbitration
One of the most acclaimed aspects of international arbitration is its neutrality, but charges of bias in international arbitration are frequent. Arbitrators constituting an international tribunal must be independent and free from any bias. In case of doubt, any party can challenge the independence of an arbitrator after being appointed. Bias can be real, which […]
Irreparable Damage and Interim Measures: ENCANA CORP. v. GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR (LCIA, Interim Award, Request for Interim Measures of Protection – 2004)
In the well-known case Encana v. Ecuador, the Arbitral Tribunal refused to order interim measures on the basis of there being no irreparable damage. On January 8, 2004, Claimant requested an urgent hearing of an application for interim relief regarding the enforcement of certain measures that the Ecuadorian government had taken against one of its […]
Arbitration Institutions in Serbia
The largest and oldest of the arbitral institutions in Serbia was the Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration, established in 1947, which is an independent entity within the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In addition, another arbitration institution under the same Chamber which existed was the Permanent Court of Arbitration. As of 30 June 2016, […]
Arbitration in Oman
Arbitration in Oman is common. It is frequent for parties to include arbitration clauses in their contracts, which is especially the case in energy, purchase, construction and commercial agency agreements. Arbitration is considered to be an efficient and reliable mechanism for dispute resolution in Oman, as arbitral awards may be rendered within 12 months in […]
Croatia Challenges MOL Arbitration Award
As previously announced by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Croatia appealed against the arbitral decision of an UNCITRAL arbitral tribunal, dismissing as unfounded Croatia’s claims against Hungarian State-owned company MOL. The case was brought by Croatia against Hungarian company MOL in 2014 pursuant to an arbitration clause in a 2003 shareholder’s agreement governing MOL’s investment […]
