Archive for the 'Arbitration Agreements' Category

The Arbitrability of Libyan Terrorist Claims

As I have noted earlier, there is a pitched battle between victims of Pan Am 73 terrorist hijacking over the distribution of treaty funds secured by the United States for American victims in a 2008 diplomatic settlement with Libya. The treaty and Executive Order stipulate that the money shall be distributed solely for the [...] read more »

« Circulez, il n’y a rien à voir ! ». A Response to Professor Hess

Professor Hess is the author of the chapter of the Heidelberg Report on the interplay between arbitration and the Regulation 44/2001 (“the Regulation”). As such, and quite understandably, he actively promotes the suggestion that the arbitration exception should be deleted from the Regulation.
The Heidelberg proposal has been followed by a Green Paper of the European [...] read more »

Possible reinforcement of the negative effect of the “competence-competence” principle in Swiss legislation

The Swiss Parliament is currently contemplating a reinforcement of the negative effect of the “competence-competence” principle in the Swiss legislation. According to a parliamentary initiative, a Swiss court that is seized on the merits and faced with a plea of lack of jurisdiction based on the existence of a valid arbitration agreement should review such [...] read more »

The Question of Admissibility of Claims in Investment Treaty Arbitration

In my last post I questioned whether investor misconduct (such as fraud, illegality and corruption) is invariably a jurisdictional issue.  This post focuses on the use of admissibility as a filtering mechanism to screen investor claims.  Although it has been suggested by at least one investment treaty tribunal that the concept of admissibility does not [...] read more »

Existence and Validity of an Arbitration Agreement: The French Supreme Court Confirms that the Validity of an Arbitration Agreement Depends Primarily on the Common Intent of the Parties

On 8 July 2009, the French Supreme Court rendered a decision confirming its position that the existence and the validity of an arbitration agreement should be determined primarily in light of the common intent of the parties (Société d’études et représentations navales et industrielles (SOERNI) et autres vs. Société Air Sea Broker limited (ASB), July [...] read more »

Investor misconduct and investment treaty arbitration: mapping the terrain

The treatment of investor misconduct in investment treaty arbitration raises a series of complex issues.  Allegations of investor misconduct (such as fraud, illegality and corruption) can arise in the context of the making of an investment, during its operation, or in the investment treaty claim making process.   How should a tribunal address investor misconduct if [...] read more »