International Arbitration

Welcome to the home of arbitration on Law-Now.

From here, you can also access CMS’ guide to international arbitration, which covers the arbitration laws of 30 countries.

To stay in touch with the latest developments, please bookmark this page on your mobile or register to receive eAlerts.

Recent Articles

  •  
    16.11.2023
    Germany

    Are arbitration clauses relevant to patent disputes and if yes, why? – The German Federal Patent Court on the interrelation between revocation actions and arbitration

    In a recent series of judgments, the German Federal Patent Court (BPatG) discussed the effects of an arbitration clause contained in a patent and knowhow Licence Agreement and two arbitral awards rendered on the basis of such a clause on the admissibility of several patent revocation actions by the licensee against the patent owner for German patents in the field of brake system technologies.In all judgments, the BPatG assessed in a remarkably detailed and structured manner whether the arbitration clause in the Licence Agreement or the arbitral awards rendered in the preceding arbitration under...
    Read more
  •  
    27.10.2023
    International

    In overturning USD 11 billion award for fraud, High Court invites discussion on arbitration’s ability to resolve large disputes involving states

    On 23 October, in The Federal Republic of Nigeria v Process & Industrial Developments Ltd. [2023] EWHC 2638 (Comm), Mr Justice Robin Knowles found that an arbitration award for USD 11 billion had been “obtained by fraud” and thus was “contrary to public policy.” While the Court has yet to decide whether the award should be entirely set aside or remitted to the arbitral tribunal, Mr Justice Knowles invited discussion upon how his factual findings touched upon several key issues central to the rule of law and the conduct of arbitration including the ability of the arbitral...
    Read more
  •  
    06.10.2023
    UAE

    Navigating new horizons: a summary of the UAE arbitration law’s reforms

    IntroductionThe UAE is reinforcing its status as a global hub for international arbitration with the recent enactment of Federal Law No. 15 of 2023, which revises certain articles of the Arbitration Law (Federal Law No. 6 of 2018).Specifically, the new law amends Articles 10, 23, 28 and 33 of the Arbitration Law (the “Amendments”) aiming to enhance the efficiency and adaptability of arbitration proceedings seated in the UAE. The Amendments came into effect on 16 September 2023 and seek to augment the UAE's positioning as a leading destination for international arbitration.The key points...
    Read more
  •  
    07.09.2023
    United Kingdom

    Law Commission issues final report on Reforms to Arbitration Act 1996

    On 6 September, the Law Commission of England and Wales released its final report on the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”). The report is the culmination of over two years of review, including two separate consultation papers. Ultimately, the Law Commission has recommended only six “major initiatives” for reform. Given the statute’s success and its ability to stand the test of time, most of the reforms are unsurprisingly relatively modest and the proposed bill accompanying the report is relatively short.Key reforms include changing the default rule on the governing...
    Read more
  •  
    22.08.2023
    Germany

    German court rules lack of signature and failure to state a reason can lead to invalidity of arbitral award

    Under German law, it suffices that an arbitral award rendered by more than one arbitrator is being signed by the majority of the arbitrators if reasons for the absence of a signature are provided. In a decision of 27 April 2023, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt ruled that the note on the signature page of an arbitral award stating that the signature of an arbitrator could not be obtained is an insufficient explanation and leads to the invalidity of the award.One signature missing on award’s signature pageThe Higher Regional Court Frankfurt am Main was asked to consider whether to set...
    Read more
  •  
    02.08.2023
    Germany

    German Federal Supreme Court rules Intra-EU arbitration under the ICSID Convention inadmissible

    On 27 July 2023, the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) decided that intra-EU arbitral proceedings under the ICSID Convention may be declared inadmissible by German courts even before an award is rendered. The BGH, the highest German civil court, deliberated on three legal appeals (cases I ZB 43/22, I ZB 74/22 and I ZB 75/22) in which the question arose whether ICSID arbitration proceedings between an EU member state and an investor of another EU member state on the basis of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) are contrary to EU law and can be declared inadmissible by German courts under section 1032...
    Read more