Introducing Alexis Mourre
Kluwer Arbitration Blog is pleased to introduce Alexis Mourre as a guest blogger for the next month. Alexis specialises in international arbitration and international litigation with the law firm of Castalde Mourre & Partners in Paris. He has served as counsel to party, co-arbitrator, sole arbitrator or expert in more than 80 international arbitral procedures, both ad hoc and before the most prominent arbitral institutions. He is a member of the Counsel of the International Business Law Institute of the International Chamber of Commerce as well as of a large number of scientific and professional institutions dedicated to arbitration and private international law. Alexis Mourre is the autho [...]
Arbitration Clauses: Interpretation and Extension to Non-Signatories
In a decision dated 5 December 2008 (4A_376/2008), the Swiss Federal Court (“SFC”) had the opportunity to address two legal topics in the context of international arbitration:
The first topic was the interpretation of a pathological arbitration clause. B___ Ltd. (“Claimant-Company”) had initiated arbitration proceedings in Lugano under the ICC rules against A.___ (“Respondent”) on basis of an “Employment Contract for the post of Managing Director” of the Claimant-Company. Pursuant to the contractual document, Claimant-Company and Respondent were the sole parties to this “Employment Contract” that contained the following arbitration clause: “In case of any disputes deriving from the Contract, [...]
Manifest Disregard is Dead – Long Live § 10(a)(4) FAA?
The relevance of the Supreme Court’s Hall decision in Hall Street Associates, L.L.C. v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 1369 (2008) for the question of whether “manifest disregard of the law” can constitute a ground for vacatur of an arbitral award by a U.S. court has already been addressed in an earlier post to this blog, which was prompted by the Fifth Circuit decision in Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. v. Bacon, 2009 WL 542780, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 4543. In this decision, the Fifth Circuit stressed its understanding that “Hall Street rejected manifest disregard as an independent ground for vacatur” and declared – much to the joy of most critics of the “manifest disregard” doctrine – that “manifes [...]
Bringing not-for-profit investment claims to ICSID
In a post last month, I queried whether not-for-profit organizations could use bilateral investment treaties to challenge abusive treatment by host states.
My guess (and that of a colleague with whom I’ve written on this topic) is that such organizations would have little difficulty qualifying as investors under most BITs – and that at least some forms of not-for-profit activities might constitute foreign investments covered by such treaties.
If would-be claimants opted for arbitration under the UNCITRAL rules, they would simply need to make a case that their activities are covered by the relevant investment treaty.
However, things get much more complex if such claimants plump for arbitr [...]
U.S. Supreme Court Decides Terrorist Victim Waived Right to Attach Arbitration Award
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court decided Iran v. Elahi, a case that appears to fall within a data set of one. As I reported elsewhere, the case is extraordinarily complex, focusing on whether a terrorist victim judgment creditor can attach a confirmed arbitration award rendered in Iran’s favor. Although it involves exotic issues relating to international terrorism, military contracts, and international arbitration, the actual dispositive issues in the case are simple matters of statutory interpretation.
Simplifying the case to its bare essentials, in 1977 Iran had a contract with a military contractor, Cubic Defense Systems, to deliver military goods. Iran paid for some of th [...]
Should Arbitrator or Institutional Fees be Reduced when Awards are Subject to Challenge?
- By Andrea Menaker, White & Case LLP,
for White & Case
In two recently reported cases, parties to arbitrations have challenged arbitrator and/or institutional fees where the underlying awards have also been subject to annulment or set aside proceedings. Are these cases isolated instances or do they signal an increased trend? The answer may have widespread ramifications for how, and where, arbitrations are conducted and administered.
In Soyak Int’l Constr. & Investment Inc. v. Hobér, Kraus & Melis, No. Ö 4227-06 (3 Dec. 2008), the Swedish Supreme Court affirmed the power of Sweden’s national courts to revise arbitrator fees. Soyak had challenged the arbitrators’ fees from a Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (“SCC”) arbitration pursuant to Ar [...]
