Laws, treaties and soft law

Reforms proposed for England’s 1996 Act

Practitioners have been reacting to initial proposals by the Law Commission of England and Wales for reform of the Arbitration Act 1996, including on arbitrators’ duties of disclosure, summary disposal, jurisdictional challenges and emergency arbitration.

22 September 2022

German court declares ICSID claims inadmissible

UPDATED: A German court has declared that two ICSID claims brought by German energy companies against the Netherlands are inadmissible as they are incompatible with EU law.

07 September 2022

Poland moves to exit ECT

The Polish government has prepared draft legislation to withdraw the country from the Energy Charter Treaty, citing the need to comply with EU law and a lack of progress in efforts to modernise the treaty.

02 September 2022

EU confirms arbitration carve-out in sanctions regime

Arbitral institutions have welcomed a clarification by the European Union that transactions with Russian state-owned entities are exempt from its sanctions regime where they are strictly necessary to ensure access to arbitral proceedings.

26 July 2022

Africa Arbitration Academy publishes model BIT

The Africa Arbitration Academy has published a model bilateral investment treaty for states on the continent, with a focus on innovation, sustainability and “Africanisation”.

26 July 2022

A look at ICSID’s new transparency rules

Gary Shaw of Pillsbury in Washington, DC, considers the recent amendments to ICSID’s transparency rules that took effect at the start of this month, arguing they provide greater access to arbitration while preserving party control.

13 July 2022

Reactions roll in to ECT modernisation

Practitioners have shared their insights with GAR after contracting parties to the Energy Charter Treaty agreed to a sweep of “modernisations”, including an option to withdraw protections for fossil fuel investments and amendments to prevent intra-EU claims.

29 June 2022

ECJ dismisses London award in oil spill saga

Following what is thought to be the last reference from an English court pre-Brexit, the European Court of Justice has ordered that an €855 million Spanish court judgment over an oil spill in the Atlantic must be enforced in England and denied the jurisdiction of a sole arbitrator who issued “irreconcilable” rulings years earlier.

24 June 2022

ECJ refuses to rule on ECT amendments

The European Court of Justice has declined Belgium’s request to rule on the compatibility of proposed amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty with EU law, saying said it would be “premature” to do so while changes are still being debated.

17 June 2022

US Supreme Court restricts discovery in foreign arbitrations

The US Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling that parties cannot seek discovery for foreign commercial and investor-state arbitration in federal courts – bringing an end to a long-standing circuit split.

13 June 2022

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