Arbitration News
Conoco says Venezuela will pay $2 billion arbitration award
The Washington Post – 20 August
ConocoPhillips, a US oil giant has now reached an agreement with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA and has been awarded $2 billion as a ten-year old dispute is finally resolved. Conoco will suspend legal actions to seize PDVSA’s facilities in the Dutch Antilles and should receive their first payment of $500 million within 90 days.
International Arbitration community welcomes Argentina and Uruguay’s new international commercial arbitration acts
Herbert Smith Freehills – 9 August
Uruguay has now passed its International Commercial Arbitration Act after its upper house, the Chamber of Senators, signed off the draft in May. On the following day, 4 June 2018, Argentina signed off their own International Commercial Arbitration Act. This is a big step for the international arbitration community. Herbert Smith Freehills discusses both acts in more detail.
Bricks and Mortar (and ADR)
CIArb – 8 August
The APPG for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) conducted a successful inquiry into ‘the efficacy of housing redress schemes’. Using ADR has become an increasingly popular method for consumers in the housing market: the inquiry focused on understanding the current landscape of redress and discussed whether anything should be done to improve the current ADR process.
AC Milan: Italian giants' European ban overturned by Court of Arbitration for Sport
BBC Sport – 20 July
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned AC Milan’s one-year ban from European football, which was originally handed down when the club broke the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Financial Fair Play rules. According to the CAS, the original ruling was not a ‘proportionate disciplinary measure’.
State to state dispute resolution in the UK Government’s white paper: arbitration with a potential role for the CJEU
Herbert Smith Freehills – 13 July
A white paper titled, ‘The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union’ has been published and discusses the UK Government’s proposals for the resolution of disputes between the UK and the EU under an ‘Association Agreement’. Herbert Smith Freehills discusses the details of the agreement.
HKIAC Signs Cooperation Agreement
HKIAC – 11 July
The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mongolian International and National Arbitration Centre (MINAC). According to the HKIAC, this agreement ‘will play an important role in accelerating economic growth by improving regional trade and investment in Mongolia.’
English court dismisses attempt to set aside LCIA award on grounds of serious irregularity
Herbert Smith Freehills – 3 July
Herbert Smith Freehills discusses the case of X v Y [2018] EWHC 741 (Comm), where the English High Court has dismissed an application to set aside an arbitral award under s68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996, because the claimant did not exhaust all remedies available to it before applying. According to the article, companies should ‘ensure that any available process under s57 is exhausted before an application is made under s68.’
