It is common to use witness statements in international arbitration. The witness can typically be any person including officers, representatives or employees of the party for which he/she is to provide testimony.[1] The reasons to use witnesses in international arbitration are multiple: to reinforce evidence already presented in support of a party’s claim(s), to “fill” […]
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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, […]
2018 Singapore Convention on Mediation
The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“Singapore Convention (on Mediation)”) came into force on 12 September 2020. It creates a harmonized framework for cost-effective and prompt enforcement of international mediated settlement agreements, aiming to render mediation more efficient and attractive to commercial parties globally, as an alternative to international arbitration […]
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 […]
Study on Damages in ICC Arbitration
On 10 December 2020, the Queen Mary University of London and PWC released a Study on Damages in ICC Arbitration Awards. The Study provides valuable data revealing, inter alia, how damages are approached and assessed by claimants and respondents, the role of experts in the assessment of damages and the approach taken by ICC tribunals […]
ICSID Arbitration
ICSID arbitration refers to arbitral proceedings conducted under the aegis of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the “ICSID Centre”), established by Article 1 of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the “Convention”), which entered into force on 14 October 1966. The Convention provides […]
ICC Arbitration
ICC arbitration refers to the settlement of disputes under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC Arbitration Rules“). The International Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC”), which oversees ICC arbitration, is the largest and most diverse business organization in the world, with hundreds of thousands of member companies from over 100 […]
Near-Global Enforceability of Arbitration Awards: Sierra Leone Becomes the 166th State Party to the New York Convention
Sierra Leone became the 166th State Party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, also known as the “New York Convention” (the “Convention“), by depositing its instrument of accession to the UN Secretary General on 28 October 2020. The Convention will enter into force for Sierra Leone on 26 January […]
Arbitration in Nigeria
Arbitration in Nigeria is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Chapter 18, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004) (the “ACA”), which incorporates the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“UNCITRAL Model Law”). Nigeria, in addition to being the African country with the largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, was the […]
