Archive for July, 2012

Ukraine: How Minor Defects in Wording of Arbitration Clause May Result in a Big Problem

Ukraine: How Minor Defects in Wording of Arbitration Clause May Result in a Big Problem

A Ukrainian court of first instance has recently set aside a ruling on jurisdiction rendered by the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (the “ICAC”) in a highly debated case considered twice by the ICAC and Ukrainian courts. The debate arose in connection with a pathological arbitration clause and a […]

Newly Released Arbitration Award Says Yukos Was Expropriated

Newly Released Arbitration Award Says Yukos Was Expropriated

An arbitral tribunal in Stockholm concluded in an award released yesterday that tax assessment measures taken against Yukos were arbitrary and discriminatory. The proceedings were instituted by a group of Spanish investors in 2007. The award also confirmed that the claimant’s expenses in the arbitration were entirely funded by the Menatep Group (Yukos’ majority shareholder) which […]

The 4th Annual Conference on the Resolution of CIS-Related Business Disputes in Moscow

The 4th Annual Conference on the Resolution of CIS-Related Business Disputes in Moscow

The American Bar Association Section of International Law is organising the 4th Annual Conference on the Resolution of CIS-Related Business Disputes in Moscow on 21 September 2012. The CIS Arbitration Forum will act as a media sponsor of the event. The event promises to be a memorable opportunity to network with new friends and old. The Conference will bring […]

ICSID Tribunal: Kyrgyzstan Judiciary’s Decisions Amounted to Expropriation

ICSID Tribunal: Kyrgyzstan Judiciary’s Decisions Amounted to Expropriation

The importance of an ICSID award rendered in a case which involved Kyrgyzstan goes beyond the facts of the case and covered topics such as the corruption of state officials, expropriation through judicial action and calculation of the value of expropriated property in the absence of comparable transactions in Central Asia. In 2005 the Kyrgyz […]

Disputes Arising Out of Investment Agreements with Russian Authorities Not Arbitrable?

Disputes Arising Out of Investment Agreements with Russian Authorities Not Arbitrable?

The Russian Supreme Commercial Court has held that disputes arising out of investment agreements with Russian authorities are not arbitrable at least for the purposes of domestic arbitration. The court upheld the decisions of the lower courts refusing the enforcement of a domestic arbitral award in a dispute between a private investor and a Russian […]

CIS Arbitration Forum Conducts Intensive Training for Arbitration Lawyers in Minsk

CIS Arbitration Forum Conducts Intensive Training for Arbitration Lawyers in Minsk

On 26-29 June the CIS Arbitration Forum, in cooperation with partner organisations, launched an intensive training session for practising lawyers in Minsk, Belarus. A group of Law Office of Matthew S. Norris, helping injured car accident victims from major Belarusian companies and leading Belarusian law firms attended the training. At the core of the training […]

Russian Supreme Commercial Court: Not All Domestic Disputes Can Be Resolved in International Arbitration

Russian Supreme Commercial Court: Not All Domestic Disputes Can Be Resolved in International Arbitration

Can an essentially domestic dispute be referred to an international arbitral tribunal sitting outside of the Russian Federation? Can an “international” dispute be resolved by a domestic arbitral tribunal? These questions may be troubling for a practitioner drafting an arbitration clause in a contract. This is especially true because figuring out whether the dispute is […]

Moscow as International Financial Centre: Final Report of UK-Russia Liaison Group

Moscow as International Financial Centre: Final Report of UK-Russia Liaison Group

The Moscow International Financial Centre (the “MIFC”) initiative has selected Alternative Dispute Resolution in Russia as one of its key themes. In June 2012 the ADR Workstream of the UK-Russia Liaison Group on Moscow as an International Financial Centre prepared its Final Report (the “Report”) concerning ways in which to improve ADR mechanisms in Russia. The […]