International Arbitration

Recent Articles

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  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...

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  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...

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  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...

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  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...

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  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...

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  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...

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