Long-Awaited New French Arbitration Law Revealed
On Thursday, 13 January 2011, France revealed its long-awaited new arbitration law. The décret n° 2011-48 portant réforme de l’arbitrage, was published in France’s Official Journal, alongside a report commenting on the reform. The new law can be found here, as well as the accompanying commentary here.
The reform concerns both domestic and international arbitration and the new provisions will comprise Articles 1442 to 1527 of the French Code of Civil Procedure. The new law becomes effective and applicable as of 1 May 2011, except for a number of specifically enumerated provisions which apply only if the arbitration agreement was entered into, the arbitral tribunal constituted, or th [...]
A View from the Mountain Top: A Challenge to International Arbitral Practice in Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain
Switzerland may be one of the world’s most important arbitral seats, even so one would scarcely expect arbitration to hold much interest for the tubercular residents of Davos in Mann’s novel Der Zauberberg or The Magic Mountain. Yet aficionados of arbitration who persevere to the sixth chapter of his lengthy book are treated to a little exchange on the subject. In a usually overlooked passage, the Italian Ludovico Settembrini, purporting to speak as the voice of progress, and the conservative Jesuit Leo Naphta cross swords over the merits of arbitration during an afternoon of tea and chocolate “Baumkuchen” cake in the company of the main character Hans Castorp and his cousin Joachi [...]
The Effects of Insolvency on International Arbitration
The Swiss Supreme Court recently rendered a decision (4_A428/2008, dated 31 March 2009) regarding the effects of insolvency proceedings on international arbitrations seated in Switzerland.
This case concerns a multi-party arbitration conducted under the ICC Rules with its seat in Geneva. One of the co-respondents in the arbitration, a Polish company, informed the tribunal that insolvency proceedings had been opened against it in Poland and that Polish law provided for the invalidity of arbitration agreements to which the insolvent company was party. The Polish company relied on Article 142 of the Polish Insolvency Law (the “PIL”), which provides “any arbitration clause concluded by the bankr [...]
