international arbitration

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By Justin Lo, Alan Zhang and Alice Leung, King & Wood Mallesons’ Hong Kong Office

The growth in cross-border investment has led to more complex relationships between commercial parties, particularly where foreign elements are involved. Commercial parties are increasingly choosing international arbitration as the means to resolve their disputes.

For parties considering arbitration in the Asia Pacific Region, Hong Kong is an attractive arbitral venue for a number of reasons.

Independent and robust legal system

Hong Kong’s legal system is based on the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and preserves the common law. The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report for 2013 and 2014 ranked Hong Kong number four in terms of judicial independence out of 148 jurisdictions, ahead of the UK, the US, Singapore and many members states of the European Union.

Hong Kong’s legal professionals are fully experienced and capable of providing clients with diversified professional legal advice and related services. Arbitrators in Hong Kong are regarded as independent and highly experienced in dealing with cross border commercial disputes. As such, Hong Kong is seen as a more attractive arbitration hub for domestic and foreign parties to resolve their disputes.
Continue Reading Why should parties consider Hong Kong as an arbitral venue?

By Fernando Badenes, King & Wood Mallesons’ Madrid Office

The last step of the reform of the electricity sector carried out by the Spanish Government has been the final straw. That step was the enactment of a Ministerial Order that has set the parameters of remuneration for different renewable energy technologies. This regulatory change supposes the retrenchment of the profitability that the Spanish state had promised and stimulated and which had been the reason for fresh private equity funds in the sector. This change of regime was initiated some years ago by the Spanish Government with the aim of reducing the tariff deficit of the system and has triggered foreign alarms to investors who had invested in the renewal energy sector relying on the Government’s promises on keeping premium fees throughout the lifetime of the plants. These investors have now initiated arbitration proceedings under the protection of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”) to claim from the Spanish State fees lost as a result of this change of regulation.
Continue Reading Energy Charter Treaty: The umbrella for international arbitration against Spanish energy renewal

By Louise England, King & Wood Mallesons

Background

The decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Giedo van der Garde BV v Sauber Motorsport AG [2015] VSC 80 [1] was as fast as the subject matter at stake, the Second Applicant’s right to particulate in the 2015 Formula One Season and specifically, the Melbourne Grand Prix on Sunday, 15 March 2015.

The decisive judgments of the Court at first instance (Croft J) and the Court of Appeal (Whelan, Beach and Ferguson JJA) delivered in just eight days, act as a positive indication of the Supreme Court of Victoria’s efforts to be perceived as a facilitative, arbitration friendly jurisdiction that is willing to commit
its resources to encourage the effective resolution of disputes between parties.
Continue Reading Case Note – Giedo van der Garde BV v Sauber Motorsport AG

By Justin McDonnell and Natalie Caton, King & Wood Mallesons’ Brisbane Office

mcdonnell_jcaton_nAlready a hub for international arbitration and mediation, the launch of the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”) on 5 January 2015 cemented Singapore as a prime destination for resolving international commercial disputes. Singapore is an ideal location particularly for those doing business in the Asia-Pacific region. Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon stated that the Court aimed to ‘build upon and complement the success of [Singapore’s] vibrant arbitration sector and make [Singapore’s] judicial institutions and legal profession available to serve the regional and the global community.’
Continue Reading Singapore Slings: The New Cocktail of Dispute Resolution Procedures in Singapore

By Stuart Bruce and Juliette Huard-Bourgois, King & Wood Mallesons’ London Office

Large-scale investments made in foreign jurisdictions face many risks, particularly when the investments are in countries with high levels of political and regulatory risk or developing judicial systems, as is often a concern for international investors entering certain African states. In such\ circumstances, investors are particularly concerned about the legal protections that are available to them during the life of their investments. Bilateral and multilateral investment treaties (“BITs”, “MITs”) have become the principle vehicle to overcome these challenges and mitigate the risks of government intervention.

BITs are international law instruments – treaties – agreed between two states. MITs are treaties agreed between more than two states. The purpose of BITs and MITs is to create a stable legal environment that fosters foreign direct investment. This is achieved by the “host state” (i.e. the state in which the investment is made) agreeing to provide certain guarantees and standards of protection to the investments of private foreign investors (i.e. those with the nationality of, or incorporation in, the “home state”). The investor is also provided with the opportunity to enforce its rights under the investment treaty against the host state through independent international investment arbitration. This is the major innovation of investment treaties, as traditionally it was only states that had standing to bring claims against one another.
Continue Reading Maximising Investment Protection in Africa: the Role of Investment Treaties and Investment Arbitration

By King & Wood Mallesons

001Welcome to the third edition of Crossing Borders, a periodic review of developments in international arbitration across the world produced by the global law firm King & Wood Mallesons. In this edition, we discuss a number of important developments in international arbitration. We address the latest updates on anti-bribery and…

By King & Wood Mallesons’ International Dispute Resolution Group

On August 28, 2014, the China Air Transport Association (“CATA”), the International Air Transport Association (“IATA”), and the Shanghai International Arbitration Center (“SHIAC”) signed a cooperation agreement on international aviation arbitration in Shanghai. They announced that the Shanghai International Aviation Court of Arbitration (“SHIACA”) and the Shanghai International Aviation Arbitration Experts Committee (“SHIAAEC”) were officially established.

SHIACA is affiliated with SHIAC. After the Court of Arbitration of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was initiated, SHIACA was regarded as another marvelous innovation by SHIAC and the world’s first arbitration agency specialized in aviation disputes. It means that international aviation arbitration system is officially established in Shanghai, which provides great convenience and advantages to domestic and foreign enterprises in the resolution of global disputes through SHIAC.
Continue Reading First International Aviation Court of Arbitration Initiated in Shanghai Free Trade Zone

By Ariel Ye and Liu Yuwu King and Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

Background

On September 24, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (“CIETAC”) launched its Hong Kong Arbitration Center (“the Center”) as its first branch outside mainland China. This is a significant step taken by CIETAC in its plan to expand globally.

CIETAC, established in 1956, is the dominant arbitration institution in mainland China and one of the main arbitration institutions in the Asian-Pacific region. For Chinese enterprises, CIETAC is their first choice for an international arbitral institution due to historical and practical reasons.
Continue Reading New Choice for Mainland-Related International Arbitration—Establishment of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Hong Kong Arbitration Center

By Huang Tao  King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

The fast growth of China’s economy has gotten more and more foreign enterprises to invest in Mainland China. Foreign investors need to establish a local presence Chinese, for example, a representative office, a branch, a subsidiary, or a joint venture so that they can do business in China. As the business ties between China and the rest of the world strengthen, the number of China-related business disputes has been increasing.

Arbitration is one of the most favored international business transaction dispute resolution mechanisms because it is convenient, efficient, and the cross-border enforceability of arbitration awards tends to be higher than court judgments.
Continue Reading The Validity of Arbitration Agreements under Chinese Law

作者：黄滔 金杜律师事务所争议解决组

近几十年来，随着中国经济的快速发展，越来越多的外国公司选择在中国大陆（“中国”）投资，投资方式包括设立代表处、分支机构、子公司、合营（合作）企业或者与中国公司建立贸易纽带。中外经济合作加强也使涉及中国因素的争议在近几十年内迅猛增加。

由于其便利、高效的特点以及裁决跨境执行力的日益增强，仲裁已成为涉外合同中最受欢迎的争议解决机制之一。尽管如此，在某些情况下，即使当事人同意将彼此之间的争议提交仲裁，由于对仲裁条款的效力存在争议，最终也只能将争议提交法院解决。另外，考虑到不同的国家及地区的法律对仲裁协议或条款的效力或执行力存在不同要求，已经及将要在中国开展业务或和与中国公司或个人进行商业往来的企业及商人应对此予以特别的关注。Continue Reading 如何起草国际商事合同中的争议解决条款