Singapore’s International Arbitration Act 2012 vs Hong Kong’s Arbitration Ordinance 2011
Following a previous round of amendments in 2009 that came into effect on 1 January 2010, the Singapore Ministry of Law published further proposed amendments to Singapore’s International Arbitration Act (“the IAA”) on 8 March 2012. The proposals took into account views garnered from a public consultation process. There are four key proposals in this round of amendments summarized below. This note also briefly compares the proposals against Hong Kong’s Arbitration Ordinance (“the AO”) that came into force on 1 June 2011.
I. The Writing Requirement
As a result of amendments in 2009, an arbitration agreement under the IAA currently includes “an agreement made by electronic commu [...]
Consultation on revision of Dutch arbitration law opened
The Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice has launched a consultation on the revision of the Dutch 1986 arbitration law. See here. For an informal English translation of a comparison with the current Dutch arbitration law, see here. The consultation will be open until 1 June 2012. It is anticipated that the legislative proposal will be submitted to the Dutch Parliament later this year. Important proposed amendments relate to, e.g.:
i. limitation of the length of annulment proceedings;
ii. revival of the jurisdiction of the state court;
iii. confidentiality of arbitration proceedings;
iv. assistance of the Dutch state court in foreign arbitration proceedings;
v. provisional measures in pendi [...]
Portuguese Arbitration Law: A Gateway to Portuguese-Speaking Countries?
The new Portuguese arbitration law that shall enter into force on 14 March 2012 represents a remarkable evolution in the arbitration framework in Portugal.
The former Portuguese arbitration law was published in 1986 (not following the UNCITRAL Model Law) and despite being considered a progressive law at the time it was clear that it lacked the ability to respond to some of the issues that have been raised in more recent times. On this point, it should be noted that the 1986 law was amended in 2003, but only a few changes were introduced (dealing with very specific procedural aspects in the context of arbitration proceedings).
For a long time the legal community demanded a new arbitration l [...]
Route 66: Diverting the Italian Torpedo
West Tankers Inc v Allianz SpA v Generali Assicurazione Generali SpA [2012] EWCA Civ 27
On 24 January 2012, London’s status as a pro-arbitration forum was given a major boost when the Court of Appeal handed down judgment on the latest chapter of the West Tankers dispute. Upholding an earlier Commercial Court decision of 6 April 2011, the Court of Appeal agreed that a declaratory arbitral award could be enforced as a judgment of the English Court under section 66 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Arbitration Act”). The intended effect was to allow West Tankers to establish the primacy of the declaratory award over any subsequent inconsistent judgement of the Italian Courts thereby po [...]
Appeals on a Point of Law in the English Courts: Further Restrictions
The judgment in the case of Mary Harvey v. Motor Insurer’s Bureau (QBD (Merc) (Manchester), Claim No: 0MA40077, 21 December 2011) just before Christmas provided another opportunity for the English courts to rule on their ability to consider appeals on a point of law.
This controversial power, retained in the UK’s Arbitration Act notwithstanding its absence from most other national legal systems, has often been criticised. Perhaps for this reason, the trend of the English courts in recent years has been increasingly to restrict its application. This latest, fully reasoned, judgment is no exception.
The Claimant, Mary Harvey, was a victim of a road traffic accident, and applied to the Motor In [...]
Declaratory award held enforceable by English court: a healthy move for arbitration?
- By Phillip Capper, White & Case LLP,
for White & Case
Following the path of the hotly debated West Tankers decision, in African Fertilizers v BD Shipsnavo, the English Commercial Court held that a declaratory award is enforceable, allowing judgment to be entered on the same terms as the arbitral award. Such an order enables a party to obtain the material benefit of the award and indicates the continuing trend of the English courts in favour of arbitration and the enforcement of arbitral awards. However, this approach does raise questions for the health of the inter-twining co-existence of the arbitration and court systems.
The declaratory award (on the tribunal’s jurisdiction) was made pursuant to an arbitration agreement contained in a bi [...]
