Laws, treaties and soft law

The European Commission has proposed that the EU should invoke the Energy Charter Treaty’s denial of benefits clause to withdraw protections for Russian and Belarusian investors.

10 April 2024

A groundbreaking treaty between Bahrain and Singapore has created a new Bahrain International Commercial Court, which is modelled on the Singapore International Commercial Court and will allow appeals to a designated body of that court.

20 March 2024

The Dubai Court of Cassation has annulled the findings of an ICC award that ordered a party to pay the other’s legal costs – one of a trio of recent rulings that have led practitioners to question the emirate’s credentials as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction.

19 March 2024

The Council of the European Union has approved a proposal to withdraw the EU from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty – as the treaty’s depositary Portugal becomes the latest member state to confirm its date of exit.

08 March 2024

The International Bar Association arbitration committee has proposed updates to its guidelines on conflicts of interest in international arbitration for the first time in a decade, expanding the definition of relationships between arbitrators and parties and providing new examples of when disclosure is required.

05 March 2024

As Slovenia’s date of exit from the Energy Charter Treaty is confirmed, the European Commission has urged EU member states not to block the adoption of a modernised version of the ECT even as they consider a coordinated withdrawal from the existing treaty.

04 March 2024

Honduras has made good on its threat to withdraw from ICSID over the centre’s handling of a US$11 billion claim, as the state also tries to disqualify arbitrator David W Rivkin from hearing that case.

01 March 2024

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Justice has published the draft of its long-awaited reforms to the country’s arbitration law – with practitioners welcoming provisions on digitalised proceedings and English documents being permitted in arbitration-related litigation.    

14 February 2024

Israel has adopted new commercial arbitration legislation, putting it among the more than 120 jurisdictions worldwide that have adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law.

13 February 2024

Arbitration practitioners have been reacting to the news that the UK government is planning legislation to reverse the Supreme Court’s PACCAR decision last summer, after the lead claimant in a high-profile lawsuit against the UK Post Office highlighted the need for litigation funding.

16 January 2024