Arbitration Law

This is review of the speech delivered by Professor Antonio Fernández de Buján on the occasion of his joining the Spanish Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation. The speech was given on the 20th of January, 2014, and was replied by Luis Díez-Picazo y Ponce de León, President of the Academy. In his speech, professor Fernandez de Buján made a brilliant exposition of arbitration as an alternative way of solving legal controversies since its very origins in Greece and Rome, and held the need for modern jurists to know this historic origin in order to thoroughly understand the present of arbitration.

Türkiye'nin projesi olarak hayata geçen ve 26 Ekim 2015'te fiilen faaliyete başlayan İstanbul Tahkim Merkezi'nin temel amaçlarından biri de Türkiye'de tahkim ve alternatif uyuşmazlık çözüm yöntemlerinin kullanılmasını teşvik etmek, bu alanda konferanslar, seminerler, eğitim ve yayınlarda bulunarak tahkim kültürünün gelişmesine katkı sağlamaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, İstanbul Tahkim Merkezi nezdinde İhtisas Çalışma Komisyonları kurulmuş ve Merkezimiz, 22 Nisan 2017 tarihinde "Şirketler Hukuku Uyuşmazlıkları ve Tahkim Konferansı"nı düzenlemiştir. Söz konusu Konferans, bu kitabın temelini oluşturmaktadır. Akademisyenlerin, avukatların ve tahkim uygulamacılarının yoğun katılımı ve ilgisiyle gerçekleşen bu konferansın amacı, şirketler hukuku uyuşmazlıklarının çözümünde tahkimi değerlendirmek, bu alanda uygulamada karşılaşılan sorunları tartışmak ve İstanbul Tahkim Merkezi'nin sunduğu avantajları açıklamaktı. Son derece başarılı bir şekilde gerçekleşen bu konferansta, konuşmacılarımız ve katılımcılarımızın konuya ilişkin zengin bakış açılarıyla ortaya koydukları görüşler, bu yayının hazırlanmasındaki itici güç olmuştur. Böylelikle şirketler hukuku ve tahkim alanında karşılaşılan sorunlar tespit edilerek, özellikle uygulamacılar için bir başvuru kaynağının sunulması hedeflenmiştir.

Under Venezuelan law, as in other jurisdictions, an arbitration agreement imposes to parties the obligation to refer present or future disputes to arbitration. Since an arbitration agreement is a legally binding agreement, the study of their obligations could be performed under the principles of the law of contract. The breach of the obligations derived from the arbitration agreement legitimizes and entitles the injured parties to a various set of remedies and opens a wide view on disputes resolution. These lines present a general overview of the topic from a Venezuelan Law's perspective.

O Artigo trata do princípio competência-competência, a partir da Lei de Arbitragem brasileira, inclusive mediante a comparação com a adoção do princípio na esfera judicial.

The Article deals with the competence-competence principle, based on the Brazilian Arbitration Law, including through comparison with the adoption of the principle in the judicial sphere.

The nature of the arbitration agreement in most legal systems (at least legal systems other than common law) is somewhat unclear. Presently, it is not possible to make any decisive statements as to which theory is the only correct one. On the other hand, it is necessary to examine each arbitration agreement invoked by the parties at the beginning of the proceedings and choose one of the current theories mentioned above. The classification of the arbitration agreement might, under certain circumstances, be the decisive element in determining the rules, i.e. procedural or substantive rules, applicable to the arbitration agreement. In civil law tradtion arbitration agreements may be defined as procedural agreements in broader sense, which does not have effects in proceedings only, but which are of substantial significance for qualitative evaluation of the substantive contractual relation between parties. Nevertheless, despite a mixed nature of arbitration agreements (as well as all jurisdictional agreements), jurisdiction is a procedural and not substantive category in the civil law tradition and jurisdiction remains the procedural condition (procedural requirement). Taking decision on jurisdiction in arbitration by partial award is in contradiction to the concept of jurisdiction as a procedural category, rather an interim award may be used for such decisions. Jurisdictional decisions taken in course of arbitration are, however, not substantive decisions and do not effect any Res Judicata. Some of civil law jurisdictions, completely in compliance with the concept of jurisdiction as procedural category, therefore deny to set-aside jurisdictional awards rendered prior to rendering award(s) on the merits of the dispute. Having any civil law dimension in arbitration, it may cause significant problems to the parties, if the arbitral tribunal decides on jurisdiction by a separate jurisdictional award.

"A obra vem a público em momento singular, no qual a arbitragem, doméstica e internacional, assume importância extraordinária no Brasil. O livro agora apresentado contribuirá para disseminar o estudo e também para consolidar o futuro da arbitragem em território brasileiro. Assim o fazendo, estará ajudando a consolidar o direito dos brasileiros à mais ampla liberdade" (Min. Luis Felipe Salomão, Prefácio).

The arbitrator’s power to determine the manner in which the arbitration is to be conducted is expansive and is circumscribed only by the agreement between the parties and the legislative fiat to treat the parties equally. The arbitrator has the power to determine his own jurisdiction; he is empowered to order interim measures of protection; his award is enforceable in the same manner as that of a decree of a civil court. For most purposes, the arbitrator is a substitute to the civil court. Nevertheless, the arbitrator is not bound to strictly follow the Evidence Law or the Civil Procedure Law as applicable to a court of law. The arbitration statute is silent as regards whether the arbitrator is obligated to frame issues to determine the dispute. While an arbitrator trained in law would not face problems in framing issues, non-lawyer arbitrators face difficulty in doing so. This short paper addresses this topic of practical significance. Further, it also discusses the possibilities of alternatives to framing issues to enable the arbitrator resolve the disputes in an effective manner.

The present paper analyzes the applicability of GDPR in the context of commercial arbitration. In particular, examined are the principle applicability of GDPR towards arbitration and the main consequences of GDPR’s applicability towards commercial arbitration. (Note: The publication is in English)

The interrelatedness between computer systems, networks, code, and traditional law and legal frameworks continues to pose a number of important and vexed questions. This report will consider one area of the relationship: legal recognition of distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain applications. Specifically, registers appended to blockchains (thereby creating “blockchain registries”), and “smart contracts” executed on blockchains

In Anugraha Engineers & Contractors v. Union of India, 2014 (3) CTC 116: 2014 (1) LW 132, a Single Judge of the Hon'ble High Court of Madras has decided that a Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (hereinafter "1996 Act" or "Act") cannot assume the power of an Appellate Court and partially set aside or modify an Arbitral Award. This short paper critically analyses the said decision and argues that the Court has the power to modify or partially set aside an Award.

1. INTRODUÇÃO AO TEMA 1.1 A definição de quem é ou pode vir a ser parte em uma arbitragem é questão das mais fascinantes para os que se dedicam ao estudo desse cada vez mais consagrado método alternativo de resolução de conflitos. O cenário pode ser simples e não oferecer maiores problemas, como quando se está diante de controvérsia que atinge exclusivamente os direitos e obrigações das partes signatárias da convenção de arbitragem. 1.2 A questão pode se tomar mais complexa, porém, quando a controvérsia posta a apreciação do tribunal arbitral envolve ou atinge direitos e obrigações de quem não é signatário da convenção de arbitragem. Ou quando a eficácia da sentença arbitral depende da intervenção de terceiro estranho a convenção de arbitragem, contra quem a parte, por exemplo, precisa garantir um direito de regresso. Ou ainda quando há evidência de que o terceiro, conquanto não tenha firmado a convenção de arbitragem, contribuiu para a consecução do contrato e para o surgimento do conflito, como por vezes ocorre em grupos de sociedades. 1.3 Em um primeiro momento, portanto, remetendo às discussões que compreensivelmente o assunto da participação de terceiros na arbitragem continua a despertar, tanto no Brasil quanto no exterior, permitimo-nos trazer ao debate algumas considerações acerca de como a participação de terceiros na arbitragem é tratada no regime da Lei 9.307/96 ("Lei no 9.307/96" ou "Lei de Arbitragem Brasileira") e dos princípios que regem a intervenção de terceiros. 1.4 A seguir, faremos um breve apanhado de como a doutrina e a jurisprudência estrangeiras veem as arbitragens envolvendo múltiplas partes para, então, retratar em que medida esse cenário internacional tem influenciado os 1 Sócio Pinheiro Neto Advogados de São Paulo. 2 Assistente do Pinheiro Neto Advogados de 520 Paulo.

Nell’ordinamento italiano, l’unica deroga al divieto per gli arbitri di concedere misure cautelari riguarda la possibilità di sospendere le delibere assembleari, introdotta, in materia societaria, dall’art. 35, comma 5, D.Lgs. n. 5/2003. Oggi, tra i criteri direttivi della prossima riforma del processo civile enunciati dalla L. n. 206/2021, a cui il legislatore delegato dovrà conformarsi, compare quello per riconoscere agli arbitri poteri cautelari di carattere generale, validi per ogni controversia loro devoluta. L’occasione pare pertanto propizia per ripercorrere, in attesa del perfezionamento dei lavori per la definizione della nuova normativa, l’esperienza di quasi venti anni di applicazione delle disposizioni in tema di tutela cautelare nell’arbitrato societario (L. 26 novembre 2021, n. 206, art. 1; D.Lgs. 17 gennaio 2003, n. 5, artt. 34, 35, 36; C.p.c., artt. 614-bis, 669-sexies c.p.c., 669-septies , 669-octies, 669-novies, 669-decies, 669-terdecies, 669-quaterdecies, 700, 818, 825, 829; C.c., artt. 2287, 2378, 2388, 2409; C.p., art. 388). ----- In the Italian legal system, up to now the only exception to the general prohibition for arbitrators to grant interim measures concerns the power of suspending the shareholders' resolutions. This derogation is contained in the rules for arbitration in corporate litigation, namely in Legislative Decree no. 5/2003, article 35 (5). Now, however, among the directive criteria established by Parliament (Law 206/2021) for the next reform of the civil process entrusted to the Government, there is the principle that arbitrators must be attributed interim powers as a general rule, no matter the nature of the dispute. While waiting for the new rules to be designed, we have the opportunity to analyze the twenty years experience on interim measures in company arbitration.

This book takes a close look at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), challenging existing claims and answering previously unanswered questions, by considering all of its publicly available decisions, both in its entirety as a body of jurisprudence and on a case-by-case level.
It also investigates the actors involved in adjudication before the CAS, both the parties that bring disputes before the CAS and the arbitrators that resolve them, and in so doing establish precedents that govern sports generally.

While the book relies upon and includes more traditional legal theory and analysis, it combines this with an empirical analysis of a large portion of the CAS's decisions. Hereby it relies upon and relates to the theory of the development of a transnational legal order in sports, the lex sportiva.
The publication is targeted at and will benefit those professionally working in or interested in the fields of sports law, arbitration law, transnational law, or empirical legal studies.

De manera específica, el arbitraje en materia societario torna interesante, empero, su aplicación en dicha esfera es inusual – en Bolivia – además que sus normas – reguladas por nuestro Código de Comercio – dejan un vacío notable en cuanto a qué puede someterse al arbitraje en materia de sociedades.

El ensayo hace un estudio sobre los principios generales que rigen las facultades que tienen los comités ad hoc para anular los laudos dictados por tribunales CIADI; para posteriormente hacer un estudio particular de cada una de las causales por las cuales puede ser solicitada la anulación del laudo

The present paper analyzes the concept of ‘arbitrability’ in the context of construction disputes arising out of contracts with public authorities from a Bulgarian law perspective. What disputes are arbitrable under Bulgarian law? Are construction disputes with public authorities arbitrable and, if yes, are there any special rules that would apply so that the dispute becomes eligible for resolution by arbitration? What is the recent court practice on these issues? The answer to these and other questions related to the arbitrability of construction disputes
with public authorities can be found in this analysis. (Note: the paper is in English)

Говоря о развитии международного коммерческого арбитража в широком смысле, необходимо различать развитие арбитражной практики и развитие арбитражного права как регулятора отношений. Тенденциями арбитражной практики в настоящее время является, в частности, количественный рост споров. В Международный арбитражный суд при МТП в 2007 г. было подано 599 исков, в 2008 г. – 663 иска, в 2009 г. – 817 исков, в 2010 г. - 793 исков, в 2011 г. – 796 исков. Похожая статистика у Лондонского международного третейского суда, Международного центра по урегулированию споров Американской арбитражной ассоциации. Увеличилось число дел с высокой суммой иска: в Лондонском международном третейском суде в 2010 и 2011 годах около 16 процентов поданных исков были на сумму более 20 миллионов долларов.

Aufgrund des völkerrechtlich nicht anerkannten Krim-Referendums führte
die EU 2014 Sanktionen gegen Russland ein. Auch die Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit ist hiervon betroffen. In der Praxis kommt es immer öfter vor, dass Parteien mit Bezug zu Russland Schiedsstandorte in der EU meiden.

We can conclude that non-state rules may include both lex mercatoria, i.e. the law of international merchants, which is not perceived in any uniform way, and currently perhaps also selected rules of EU law, provided that no legal relations are involved that have no connection to the European area. Lex mercatoria can be defined as including international trade usages (such as INCOTERMS, which have become rather popular), generally recognised legal principles (for instance, pacta sunt servanda), and collections of principles governing international agreements (e.g. UNIDROIT Principles).

Lex mercatoria can be applied both in arbitration and in litigation based on four theoretical approaches. The first applicable method is subsidiary application, i.e. lex mercatoria is applied within the limits of binding provisions of applicable law – this method does not raise any problems in practice. Another possibility is application equivalent to national legal systems, i.e. based on the conflict-of-laws method. This method is currently considered controversial and is suitable for arbitration, rather than litigation. The third possibility is the preferential application of lex mercatoria – this is, however, a very extreme approach, even within international commercial arbitration, and requires the due assessment of all relevant circumstances. This category may also include negative choice of law, which postulates that the parties opted for lex mercatoria, because they did not choose any applicable law. This is, again, controversial doctrine, which may only be applied if we first take into consideration all of the circumstances of the case, and primarily the will of the parties. The fourth and last possibility is the ex post choice of law.

As concerns practical possibilities of application, the most frequently employed method is the application of non-state rules in connection with arbitration, where the courts control the proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Academics agree that the recognition and enforcement of a foreign award cannot be refused, should the sole grounds for refusal be the fact that the award is based on lex mercatoria. Another possibility of applying non-state rules in courts is application based on domestic laws. The third possibility is the application of non-state rules based on the parties’ choice, i.e. the parties may opt for non-state law. Even if some of the parties disagree, it is possible to envisage the application of non-state rules in litigation, though rather as soft law, i.e. a tool or inspiration for the resolution of the given case. This would be similar to the application of foreign law or foreign case law.

We can also imagine, subject to certain conditions, the application of non-state rules in domestic disputes: (i) if the parties agree to do so, in which case, again, non-state rules would be applied within the limits of binding rules of the applicable law, or (ii) at the court’s discretion. In such case, the court should have regard for any and all circumstances, such as the parties’ experience with international trade, as well as the method of application. The application of non-state rules as soft law can be accepted without objections. Both arbitral tribunals and courts have become more open to non-state rules – for instance, the fact that a decision or award is based on lex mercatoria is not eo ipso contrary to public policy (ordre public).
The application of non-state legal standards is intertwined with the irreplaceable role of a first-rate pre- and post-graduate system of education, and with interactions between extensive practice, on the one hand, and education and training, on the other. This is the reason why schools and other educational institutions must be addressed, and such quality of lectures and courses must be emphasised that will guarantee a high level of theoretical training and high-quality and solid incentives and information from practice. The reason is that this very requirement attains qualified dimensions in the case of trade and legal usages (international, as well as national and regional). The potential of cooperation between educational institutions and international organisations mostly remains untapped – and not only those that create and apply contract templates, unify recommendations, or formulate trade and legal principles, etc.

В заключение можно сказать, что негосударственные правила могут включать в себя, во-первых, lex mercatoria, т. е. право участников международных коммерческих отношений, относительно понимания которого отсутствует единое мнение, во-вторых, в настоящее время, очевидно, и некоторые правовые нормы ЕС, при условии, что речь идет о правоотношениях, в которых отсутствует связь с европейским пространством. Составляющей lex mercatoria можно считать международные торговые обычаи (например, ИНКОТЕРМС, которые в значительной степени стали популярными), общепризнанные правовые принципы или основы (например, pacta sunt servanda) и свод принципов международных договоров (например, Принципы УНИДРУА).

Lex mercatoria может применяться как арбитражами, так и судами общей юрисдикции на основе четырех теоретических подходов. Первым является субсидиарное применение, когда lex mercatoria применяется в рамках когентных положений применяемого права – на практике данный способ применения не встречается с какими-либо проблемами. Вторым вариантом является применение, равноценное национальным правовым системам, т. е. на основании коллизионного метода. В настоящее время данный способ является спорным и применяется скорее арбитражными судами, чем судами общей юрисдикции. Третий вариант – это преимущественное применение lex mercatoria, которое, однако, является крайним случаем даже в контексте международного торгового арбитража, требующего рассмотрения всех существенных обстоятельств. Сюда также можно включить отрицательный выбор права (negative choice), когда предполагается, что стороны, не выбрав применимое право, выбрали именно lex mercatoria. И в данном случае речь снова идет о спорной доктрине, перед применением которой необходимо взвесить все обстоятельства дела и, прежде всего, учесть волеизъявление сторон. Четвертым и последним вариантом является дополнительный выбор права.

С точки зрения практического применения на первом месте (с учетом частоты применения) находится применение негосударственных правил в связи с арбитражным разбирательством, когда суды осуществляют контрольную функцию в ходе разбирательства о признании и приведении в исполнение иностранных арбитражных решений. В этом случае доктрина признает, что нельзя отказать в признании и приведении в исполнение решения иностранного суда только по той причине, что оно основано на lex mercatoria.  Следующим возможным применением негосударственных правил в судах общей юрисдикции является применение на основании национальных правовых норм. Третьим вариантом является применение негосударственных правил на основании выбора сторон, когда стороны могут выбрать негосударственное право. Даже если не все стороны согласны, можно рассматривать возможность применения негосударственных норм судами общей юрисдикции, однако, скорее как т. н. soft law, т. е. в качестве пособия или источника инспирации при рассмотрении и разрешении спора. Аналогично применяется иностранное право или иностранные документы судебной практики.

При определенных условиях также возможно применение негосударственных правил во внутригосударственных спорах. Это, прежде всего, споры, в которых стороны согласуют применение негосударственных правил в рамках когентных положений применяемого права, или по усмотрению суда. В данном случае суд должен рассмотреть все обстоятельства, например, опыт сторон с международной торговлей, а также способ применения. Против применения негосударственных правил как soft law нельзя возражать. В контексте наблюдается растущий интерес арбитражных судов, а также судов [общей юрисдикции/государственных] к негосударственным правилам, который проявляется, например, в том, что основание решения на lex mercatoria еще не означает противоречие публичному порядку.
В связи с применением негосударственных правовых норм важную роль играет качественная вузовская и послевузовская образовательная система и взаимодействие широкой практики с воспитанием и обучением. Поэтому необходимо обращать особое внимание на воспитательные и образовательные учреждения, а также на качество содержания обучения, гарантирующее как высокий уровень теоретической подготовки, так и качественные и обоснованные стимулы и сведения из практики. Именно это требование в торговых и правовых обычаях (международных, а также национальных и региональных) приобретает важность с точки зрения квалификации. В основном остается нереализованным потенциал в области сотрудничества между образовательными учреждениями и международными организациями, причем не только теми, которые занимаются созданием и применением образцов договоров, объединяющих рекомендаций, формулировок торговых и правовых принципов и т. п.

Abstract:     
Romanian Abstract:
Interpretarea Convenţiei de la Viena asupra contractelor de vânzare internaţională de mărfuri de către Curtea de Arbitraj Comercial Internaţional de pe lângă Camera de Comerţ şi Industrie a României este realizată prin prisma jurisprudenţei recente, fiind analizate peste 40 de hotărâri arbitrale, atât din perspectiva domeniului personal, cât şi material al convenţiei.
English Abstract:
The interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods by the Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania is made through the analysis of recent case law. The paper examines more than 40 arbitral awards. The analysis takes into account both ratione personae and ratione materiae of the Convention.

The value of knowledge-based assets, such as information relating to formulas and technical data, has increased dramatically in recent years. It is now more important than tangible or physical assets, and corporations need to properly manage these valuable assets in order to maintain their competitiveness in the marketplace. At the same time, proper control over these assets interfaces with other regulations concerning, inter alia, competition and public interest. This paper intends to critically examine laws on the protection of trade secrets in the GCC countries. Special attention is given to Qatar’s Law No. 5 of 2005 on the Protection of Trade Secrets and its reflection in the TRIPs Agreement. As the first legislation to exclusively deal with the topic in the country, its scope and contents are of tremendous interest and significance to those who would like to protect their assets through trade secrets law instead of patent law.

The determination of internationality of arbitration, which is made using the material criterion based on the nature of the dispute, or the formal criterion based on nationality, domicile or habitual  residence of the parties, or even the association these two criteria, is analyzed in this article succinctly but accurately. In most Latin American countries, an arbitration is classified as international if at the time of the conclusion of the arbitration agreement, the parties have their domicile, habitual residence or establishment in several States, when arbitration laws retain the objective criterion
relative to the nature of the dispute, and if the parties have expressly agreed that the matter of the arbitration agreement has links to more than one country. In Switzerland, however, the internationality of the dispute is not grounded in the material criterion, but in a purely formal criterion of geographical nature (art. 176 § 1 LDIP). This is a much more restrictive approach based on subjective elements. For this reason the Mercosur Agreement on International Commercial Arbitration (1998), the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (1961) or the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration prefer a mixed approach that combines the material criterion and the formal criterion.