Corruption in international arbitration is an important issue for parties, counsel, arbitrators and arbitral institutions. Nina Jankovic, Counsel at Aceris Law, participated in the Ravenna Summer School on Cross-Border Litigation and International Arbitration in Ravenna, Italy, speaking as part of a roundtable on the duties and obligations of arbitrators and arbitral institutions. Her remarks focused […]
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When an Arbitral Award Becomes State Aid
An arbitral award is usually expected to bring a dispute to an end. Within the European Union, however, an award against a Member State or a public entity may open an entirely new front: whether its payment or enforcement would amount to unlawful State aid under Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the […]
Moral Damages in Investor-State Arbitration after Emergofin
In Emergofin B.V. and Velbay Holdings Ltd. v. Ukraine, the Tribunal rejected the claim for moral damages from the outset. It did not treat moral damages as only a question of evidence or valuation; the Tribunal went further and held that the claim fell outside its jurisdiction or, alternatively, was inadmissible.[1] The Award incorporates the […]
Transnational Issue Estoppel in International Arbitration: Can It Prevent Re-Litigation at the Enforcement Stage?
International arbitration is valued for delivering final, binding, and enforceable awards, but that finality is threatened when losing parties seek to re-litigate the same objections across multiple jurisdictions. A party may challenge an award at the seat and fail. It may then attempt to resist enforcement elsewhere by recasting the same arguments. This is where […]
What the ICC’s 2025 Statistics Tell Us About the Direction of International Arbitration
The ICC Dispute Resolution 2025 Statistics are more than an annual scorecard. They show a global, institutionally active arbitration system that is also becoming increasingly regional and efficiency-focused. Questions of diversity, procedure and award quality are also greatly influencing the arbitration system. Nowadays, the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) represents the interests “of more than […]
Deepfakes in International Arbitration
Deepfakes may soon become a practical problem for international arbitration. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into arbitral procedure and decision-making, as discussed in a previous Aceris Law note on LaPaglia v. Valve. AI tools are frequently praised for their capacity to produce large volumes of text, images, audio and video within seconds. Yet […]
French Court of Cassation Limits Enforcement Against State-Linked Assets Where EU Stability Objectives Are at Stake
On 17 June 2026, the First Civil Chamber of the French Cour de cassation (“Court of Cassation”) (English version of decision here) drew an important boundary around enforcement against assets of State-linked entities. The Court accepted the general French-law principle that a creditor of a foreign State may, in certain circumstances, enforce against assets held […]
Ukraine v. Russia UNCLOS Award on Environment and Navigation
On 22 April 2026, an Annex VII arbitral tribunal issued its Award in Ukraine v. Russian Federation, a major law-of-the-sea arbitration concerning coastal State rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait. The arbitration was brought under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”), with the […]
Russian Court Refuses Recognition and Enforcement of LCIA Awards Against RUSAL on Public Order Grounds
On 28 May 2026, the Arbitrazh Court of the Kaliningrad Region refused to recognise and enforce two LCIA awards rendered against RTI Limited (“RTI”) and International Company Public Joint Stock Company United Company RUSAL (“RUSAL”) in favour of OWH SE i.L. (“OWH”). The court rejected OWH’s procedural objections, holding that RUSAL, although a debtor under […]
