Laws, treaties and soft law

After its controversial ruling earlier this year that unstamped arbitration agreements are unenforceable, India’s Supreme Court has agreed to refer the decision to a seven-judge bench for reconsideration.

29 September 2023

In a keynote speech at GAR Live Beijing, former ICC Court president Alexis Mourre urged China to go further in its proposed reforms to its arbitration law – arguing that a more liberal regime is needed for the country to fulfil its potential as a major arbitral hub.

28 September 2023

Following the UK’s decision to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, Stuart Dutson and Jonathan Schuman of Simmons & Simmons in London examine what it may mean for the country’s post-Brexit approach to investor-state dispute settlement.

27 September 2023

Rosneft has asked a Moscow court to block BP from pursuing an international arbitration – with the British company confirming the dispute does not relate to its ongoing effort to divest its stake in the Russian state-controlled entity.

27 September 2023

Arbitration practitioners from several well-known law firms and chambers have appeared before a UN tribunal that has been asked to clarify states’ obligations to protect the world’s oceans from the effects of climate change.

26 September 2023

Foreign states will no longer be granted immunity from suit or execution in mainland China and Hong Kong in respect of commercial activities following new legislation that takes effect from the start of next year.

25 September 2023

An Italian court has ruled it has no power to enforce the surviving parts of an ICC award relating to a Malaysian steel plant after it was partially set aside at the seat of the arbitration in Singapore.

22 September 2023

The modernisation of the African investment treaty system and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area is underway, with the African Union’s adoption of the final draft of the investment protocol earlier this year, writes Thomas Kendra of Hogan Lovells in Paris.

20 September 2023

Practitioners in the UK have been reacting to the Law Commission’s final recommendations for reform of the English Arbitration Act 1996 – with most praising its “pragmatic” approach but some disappointed at its refusal to address discrimination in arbitrator appointments.

08 September 2023

The Law Commission of England and Wales has published its final recommendations for reform of the Arbitration Act 1996, including on arbitrators’ disclosure duties and immunity, jurisdictional challenges to awards and deciding which law governs an arbitration agreement.

06 September 2023