The Adaptation of Long-Term Gas Sale Agreements by Arbitrators
The Adaptation of Long-Term Gas Sale Agreements by Arbitrators

Author: Pietro Ferrario

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2017-04-15

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 9041186166

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International commercial gas sale agreements are often characterised by a duration of twenty years or more. Consequently, when unforeseen events alter market conditions the contractual equilibrium originally found by the parties is disrupted, giving rise to the necessity to renegotiate and adapt the agreement. If negotiation fails, the parties in most cases submit the matter to arbitration. This comprehensive analysis of what can happen under such circumstances proceeds from an in-depth consideration of the power of arbitrators to intervene on the agreement in the light of arbitrability and procedural law. The author fully explains the complex special nature of gas pricing and contract clauses, and takes into account such features as the following, especially in the wake of the 2009 crisis as it affected the gas sector: - take or pay clauses; - mechanisms for gas price calculation; - price review and price re-opener clauses; - hardship provisions; - problems arising from the absence of a specific clause providing for adaptation/adjustment; - effect on contracts of the emergence and development of spot or traded gas markets; and - trend toward introducing spot-market elements into an oil-indexed price formula. The analysis draws on interviews with lawyers and arbitrators who have been involved in recent proceedings regarding gas sale contract adaptations, and also considers court decisions issued in setting aside or enforcing arbitration awards handed down in energy disputes. A central discussion throughout this book is the possible responses to the question of whether it is possible to determine a principle of law justifying the arbitrator’s power to intervene in contract adaptation. All professionals involved in the production, wholesaling, or distribution of gas will find this book indispensable. It will also be of special value to practitioners, policymakers, and regulators in the fields of energy law and environmental law.

International Arbitration in Latin America
International Arbitration in Latin America

Author: Gloria M. Alvarez

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2021-04-08

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 904119973X

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Energy projects in Latin America are a major contributor to economic growth worldwide. This book is the first to offer a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of specific issues arising from energy and natural resources contracts and disputes in the region, covering a wide range of procedural, substantive, and socio-legal issues. The book also includes how states have shifted from passive business partners to more active controlling players. The book contains an extensive treatment and examination of the particularities of arbitration practice in Latin America, including arbitrability, public order, enforcement, and the complex public-private nature of energy transactions. Specialists experienced in resolving international energy and natural disputes throughout the region provide detailed analysis of such issues and topics, including: state-owned entities as co-investors or contracting parties; role of environmental law, indigenous rights and public participation; issues related to political changes, corruption, and quantification of damages; climate change, renewable energy, and the energy transition; force majeure, hardship, and price reopeners; arbitration in the electricity sector; take-or-pay contracts; recognition and enforcement of awards; tension between stabilization clauses and human rights; mediation as a method for dispute settlement in the energy and natural resources sector; and different comparative approaches taken by national courts in key Latin American jurisdictions. The book also delivers a clear explanation on the impact made to the arbitration process by Covid-19, emerging laws, changes of political circumstances, the economic global trends in the oil & gas market, the energy transition, and the rise of new technologies. This invaluable book will be welcomed by in-house lawyers, government officials, as well as academics and rest of the arbitration community involved in international arbitration with particular interest in the energy and natural resources sector.

Cambridge Compendium of International Commercial and Investment Arbitration
Cambridge Compendium of International Commercial and Investment Arbitration

Author: Stefan Kröll

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-03-02

Total Pages: 3006

ISBN-13: 1009302388

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The Compendium, like an encyclopedia, contains entries for most of the foundational principles and concepts underlying arbitration. Each entry takes a holistic view of international arbitration, as they tackle core concepts from both a commercial and an investment arbitration perspective, focusing on the fundamental issues underlying the various topics rather than on the solutions adopted in any particular jurisdiction, thus making the Compendium a truly cross-border, transnational resource. This innovative approach will allow readers to identify the commonalities as well as the differences between commercial and investment arbitration, whether and where cross-fertilization has taken place and what consequences it can have. This approach allows the Compendium to be a tool in promoting the creation of a culture of international arbitration that considers commercial arbitration and investment arbitration as part of a whole but with certain distinct features particular to each.

Privity of Contract in International Investment Arbitration
Privity of Contract in International Investment Arbitration

Author: Martina Magnarelli

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2020-05-21

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 9403519908

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Is privity of contract the reason why investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is open to critics, or could it contribute to solving the system’s legitimacy crisis? Privity of contract essentially means that a subject must be a party to a contract, in order to acquire rights and assume obligations, to sue and be sued under that contract. Privity of contract came to land on the shores of ISDS and this has at least on one occasion been described as an ‘original sin’. Arbitral tribunals often need to decide whether they have jurisdiction in cases where a party to the investment contract is not the claimant but a related entity, or not the central government, but a state agency or state-owned enterprise. In light of the deep interconnection between, on the one hand, the criticism today surrounding investment treaty arbitration – be it called judicial activism and regulatory chill, or be it called abuse of law and indirect claims – and, on the other hand, the domains where privity of contract applies, this book’s original and far-reaching analysis clearly lays out, via an in-depth examination of relevant case law, a possible use of the doctrine that can contribute to leading ISDS out of the crisis. The study’s conclusions respond with thoroughly researched authority to such key questions as the following: In which domains of international investment arbitration does the notion of privity of contract operate, and with what effects? How are states and arbitral panels reacting to the persisting unresolved issues raised by the increasing pertinence of this legal doctrine? What solutions are advisable in the midst of the current criticisms surrounding ISDS? The author finds that the doctrine of privity of contract finds application in heterogeneous scenarios, from decisions on jurisdiction where there are forum selection clauses in investment contracts or fork-in-the-road provisions in investment treaties, to consolidation, counterclaims and umbrella clause claims. She proposes a flexible interpretation of the doctrine of privity of contract as a guiding principle arbitral tribunals should consider along with other factors (inter alia the tightness of the relation between the investor and its subsidiary and the host state’s involvement in the organization and function of agencies or state-owned enterprises). The book’s thorough and extensive examination of investment arbitration case law draws comparisons with other international adjudicatory bodies and identifies the most actual and compelling unresolved legal issues. Appendices include lists of many of the arbitration cases, international judgments and national judgments discussed. As a constructive contribution to the current debate, this enquiry is an extraordinary achievement. No other study has conducted such thorough research on the application of privity of contract in investment treaty arbitration. It will be of great interest to arbitration lawyers, arbitrators, foreign investors, host states and scholars in all areas of international arbitration and dispute settlement.

Good Faith in International Commercial Arbitration
Good Faith in International Commercial Arbitration

Author: Sabrina Pearson-Wenger

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2024-07-15

Total Pages: 659

ISBN-13: 9403507489

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From the perspective of users of international commercial arbitration, the uncertainties surrounding the application of good faith by an arbitral tribunal create an unwelcome unpredictability. Acknowledging this prevalent situation, this book is the first to study in depth the available international arbitral awards that have applied good faith, thus providing detailed guidance on how this notion is (and can be) applied by tribunals in international commercial arbitration. Moreover, the author proposes a set of deeply informed guidelines for the future application of good faith by arbitral tribunals to both the parties’ contract and the arbitration agreement. This book provides a comprehensive description of the role and scope of good faith under governing laws in key jurisdictions (England, New York, Switzerland, France, Germany, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada) as well as under the CISG, the UNIDROIT Principles, and other uniform law and soft law instruments. The book greatly clarifies the source and role of good faith with respect to the following issues surrounding the arbitration agreement: formal validity of the arbitration agreement; incorporation of the arbitration agreement by reference; interpretation of the arbitration agreement; capacity and power of the parties to arbitrate; extension of an arbitration agreement to a non-signatory party; pre-arbitration requirements to negotiate or mediate; and performance of the arbitration agreement. Proposed guidelines for the application of good faith to each of these issues are included, along with useful figures summarizing the content of the obligations to negotiate or mediate in good faith prior to resorting to arbitration as well as the obligation to arbitrate in good faith. By analysing the role and scope of good faith under different national and non-national laws, this book will prove of inestimable value not only by providing invaluable insight into the recourse to good faith by arbitral tribunals but also by providing guidance on how good faith should be applied to the parties’ contract in international commercial arbitration. Arbitrators, as well as users of arbitration, will welcome the clarity on how good faith is applied to the various issues surrounding the arbitration agreement and, in particular, to the pre-arbitration requirements to negotiate or mediate as well as the performance of the arbitration agreement.

Theory, Law and Practice of Maritime Arbitration
Theory, Law and Practice of Maritime Arbitration

Author: Eva Litina

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9403530316

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Theory, Law and Practice of Maritime Arbitration The Case of International Contracts for the Carriage of Goods by Sea Eva Litina It is estimated that over 80% of global trade by volume is carried by sea, making maritime transport a cornerstone of the global economy. Most disputes in the shipping industry are settled by distinctive, private arbitral proceedings that are best understood by a close examination of the standard form contracts that are used in practice and of the case law arising therefrom. Extrapolating insightfully from these sources, the author of this book examines in depth the phenomenon of maritime arbitration with a specific focus on contracts for the carriage of goods by sea. She offers the first comprehensive and comparative analysis of arbitral practice in the three jurisdictions where the most frequently selected maritime arbitral seats are located: London, New York, and Singapore. An analysis of the applicable rules and relevant case law in each jurisdiction provides the basis from which a comparative assessment of maritime arbitral seats is achieved. The book addresses the following key aspects of maritime arbitration: maritime arbitration’s definition, origins, theoretical underpinnings, socioeconomic context, and significance; the maritime-specific reasons for wide use of ad hoc versus institutional arbitration; the international instruments governing arbitration in contracts for the carriage of goods by sea; the shipping industry’s pursuit of self-regulation via standard form contracts; the arbitration agreement contained in standard form charterparties and bills of lading; maritime arbitration’s unique approach to judicial review, confidentiality, and arbitrator impartiality; the specific dispute resolution objectives that compel a comparative assessment of maritime arbitral seats; and the future of maritime arbitration in light of international political, financial, and technological developments. In addition to the three main maritime arbitral seats, the analysis touches on maritime arbitration in other relevant jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong, Greece, Japan, and Korea, thus affording a comparison of the process in common and civil law jurisdictions. The book concludes by considering the potential impact of the current international political landscape, and suggesting future perspectives and research in international maritime arbitration. An important addition to scholarship in this field of law, the book’s thorough assessment of the merits of the competing maritime arbitral seats—and its specific focus on maritime disputes—will prove of significant importance to arbitrators, law firms, in-house counsel of shipping companies, international organizations, and arbitration institutions and associations. Practitioners will discover all tools necessary to examine any case before the main maritime arbitral seats with full awareness of each applicable legal regime and its distinguishing features.

Multiple Contracts and Coordination in International Construction Projects
Multiple Contracts and Coordination in International Construction Projects

Author: Jürg Künzle

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2020-07-16

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 9403519940

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International Arbitration Law Library, Volume Number 57 Collaboration between multiple parties from different countries is one of the main challenges of almost every international undertaking, and this is especially true in the case of large and complex construction projects, such as airport terminals, interchange subway stations, distribution centers, industrial processing and manufacturing facilities or hydropower plants. This comprehensive analysis of key legal issues arising from interdependencies between multiple contracts methodically lays out, from a Swiss law perspective, the way in which coordination of works in construction projects could or should occur. It also examines the legal consequences of coordination failure and various related aspects of dispute resolution. Topics covered include the following: interfaces and interdependencies across the system boundaries of multiple contracts coordination responsibilities derived from the principle of good faith and from a contextual interpretation of interdependence-related FIDIC Red Book provisions; delegation scenarios; liability for breach of contract and legal remedies in case of delay, disruption, defects, destruction and performance impossibility; direct claims against third parties; taking of evidence under substantively intertwined contracts; and coordination of interrelated arbitration proceedings. The detailed analysis draws on numerous specific real-life examples as well as illustrative Swiss and Unites States case law. An appendix offers very useful practice pointers. Although considering Swiss law, which is a frequent choice for the law governing international construction contracts, the analysis deals with an array of conceptual aspects of multiple contracts and coordination, thereby addressing a great number of issues beyond the limits of national law. With its practical examples, the book is sure to be welcomed by those seeking to avoid or resolve disputes to which project coordination may give rise. It will prove of particular value to practitioners negotiating international construction contracts, arbitrators, in-house counsel representing owners and contractors involved in international construction projects, members of dispute review boards and project managers.

New Frontiers in Asia-Pacific International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution
New Frontiers in Asia-Pacific International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution

Author: Shahla Ali

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 940352863X

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International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

Dealing with Bribery and Corruption in International Commercial Arbitration
Dealing with Bribery and Corruption in International Commercial Arbitration

Author: Emmanuel Obiora Igbokwe

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2023-01-10

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 9403520868

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International Arbitration Law Library, Volume 65 International commercial arbitration is by no means free from bribery and corruption. Although a plethora of legal scholarship clearly affirms this contention, a thorough study on the particularly important question of the authority and duty of international commercial arbitrators to investigate a suspicion or indication of bribery or corruption sua sponte ¬– that is, on their own initiative – has been surprisingly lacking. This important book fills this gap, inter alia, by locating sua sponte authority in the position of arbitral tribunals in establishing the facts of a case and ascertaining and applying the applicable normative standards. In addition to providing a comprehensive examination of how the issue of bribery and corruption is dealt with in contemporary international commercial arbitration, the book also highlights the role of arbitrators in global efforts to combat transnational commercial bribery and corruption. Among others, the following critical issues are thoroughly investigated: arbitrability of issues of public interests; intermediary contracts; role of arbitrators in the fact-finding process; party autonomy versus overriding mandatory rules; iura novit curia in international commercial arbitration in the context of bribery and corruption; notion of transnational (or ‘truly international’) public policy; arbitrators’ duty to act as guardians of international commerce; investigative tools available to arbitrators; dealing with manifestly recalcitrant parties; possible consequences of violating the obligation to sua sponte investigate; and the view from developing countries. The analysis leans primarily on Swiss law, as Switzerland is one of the most important jurisdictions in international commercial arbitration; Switzerland has also been involved in some of the most famous and controversial arbitration cases wherein bribery and corruption became an issue. However, the study also includes a comparative analysis of the relevant laws, jurisprudence, and doctrine of other major arbitration venues, particularly England, France, and Germany. Not only in the light it sheds on how and whether international commercial arbitrators have hitherto justified the trust States have placed in them regarding the protection of the public interests but also in the practical solutions it offers arbitrators faced with issues of bribery and corruption, this deeply researched book equips arbitration practitioners and arbitration institutions with a hitherto lacking in-depth analysis on the question of sua sponte investigation. It also provides invaluable insights on how this issue might affect the future, legitimacy and expansion of this dispute settlement mechanism. Outside the field of arbitration, the book also provides jurists, legal scholars, in-house counsel for companies doing transnational business and public officials with highly enlightening perspectives on the interaction between international commercial arbitration and public interests.

Interpretation of Contracts in Comparative and Uniform Law
Interpretation of Contracts in Comparative and Uniform Law

Author: Ahmet Cemil Yildirim

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2019-05-14

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 9403511044

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Due to the globalized nature of modern commerce, arbitrators and legal counsel are often required to interpret contracts according to the rules of legal systems that are different from their own. Thus a thorough comparative examination of the principles of interpretation of contracts in major legal systems and uniform laws, such as this indispensable book provides, becomes an essential resource. The book examines the principles of contract interpretation found in seven legal systems—French, Italian, German, Swiss, Turkish, English, and U.S.—as well as in all applicable uniform laws, drawing on the case law and scholarship aligned with each. In addition to texts intended to unify or harmonize the law at a global level, the European Union’s uniform law texts, which constitute an important reference model for regional codifications, are also presented. The terminology peculiar to each system has been preserved in its language. Specific issues and topics raised include the following: “subjective” versus “objective” interpretation; historical reasons for basic differences in the approaches of individual legal systems; the principle of freedom of contract; good faith and fair dealing; rules that restrict the interpretation of contracts; and commercial usages. The author’s systematic presentation culminates in a proposal of a practical and universal method of interpretation of contracts. Given the importance of the interpretation of contracts in cross-border transactions, every practitioner of international arbitration will welcome this incomparable book’s easy access to the essential literature and case law in the legal systems and uniform laws they are most likely to encounter. Corporate counsel, scholars, and academics will discover the only detailed comparative overview available of the theory and practice of the interpretation of contracts.