Laws, treaties and soft law

The European Commission has announced the appointment of a four-strong panel of experts that will assist it in selecting candidates to serve as adjudicators in disputes under the EU’s trade and investment agreements.

04 October 2021

While Brexit’s effect on the popularity of England-seated arbitration is still unclear, it poses significant practical difficulties for practitioners seeking to travel to participate in arbitrations in the EU. Stuart Dutson, Jonathan Schuman, William Dunning and Eliza Jones of Simmons & Simmons in London report.

24 September 2021

The third draft of ICSID and UNCITRAL’s code of conduct for adjudicators in investment disputes sets out options for curbing “double hatting”, ranging from a complete ban to a requirement to fully disclose relevant counsel and expert witness appointments.

24 September 2021

Practitioners in Egypt have expressed concern at a new law granting the Supreme Constitutional Court the power to invalidate decisions rendered against the state by international institutions, despite a last-minute change to the bill to remove express mention of arbitration.

16 September 2021

The arbitration committee of the International Bar Association has launched a new taskforce to address issues arising from privilege in international arbitration.

06 September 2021

Rodrigo Jijón, Javier Jaramillo and Patricio Quevedo of Pérez Bustamante & Ponce in Quito consider newly enacted regulations in Ecuador that they say strengthen the country’s chances of becoming a regional arbitration hub.

31 August 2021

The 2020 revisions to the IBA rules of evidence reflect prevailing best practice and accommodate critical technological advances and the arbitration community’s response to major global developments such as the covid-19 pandemic, argue Samantha Rowe and Mark McCloskey of Debevoise & Plimpton and Kshama Loya and Bhavana Sunder of Nishith Desai Associates.

27 August 2021

TRANSLATION ADDED: On 30 July, China's Ministry of Justice published a consultation draft of revisions to the Chinese Arbitration Law that would considerably liberalise its arbitration infrastructure. Fangda Partners’ Lin Yanhua and Matthew Townsend identify some key takeaways for international parties from the recently circulated draft amendments.

09 August 2021

Gary Born and Soledad Peña Plaza of WilmerHale in London consider a “remarkable” recent decision by Ecuador’s Constitutional Court that the country’s ratification of the ICSID Convention does not require the approval of its National Assembly.

16 July 2021

In a major policy reversal, a new government in Ecuador has signed the ICSID Convention more than a decade after the state withdrew from the treaty.

21 June 2021