Archive for December, 2010

Russian Constitutional Court on Language in Arbitration Proceedings
By 27 December, 2010 0 Comments Read More →

Russian Constitutional Court on Language in Arbitration Proceedings

The arbitral tribunal may consider evidence in any language even if the parties agreed upon a particular language of the arbitration, the Russian Constitutional Court confirmed. Russian parties trying to enforce arbitral awards sometimes apply to the Russian Constitutional Court to clarify the meaning of the Federal Law “On International Commercial Arbitration”.This law almost completely […]

From California to Belarus Because of an Ambiguous Arbitration Clause
By 14 December, 2010 0 Comments Read More →

From California to Belarus Because of an Ambiguous Arbitration Clause

The importance of careful drafting of arbitration agreements is often underestimated in countries of the former Soviet Union. A recent case from a United States Court of Appeals illustrates this well. In September 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered an ambiguous dispute resolution clause which required settlement of disputes […]

Supreme Commercial Court: Provisional Arbitral Awards Are Not Enforceable in Russia
By 12 December, 2010 1 Comments Read More →

Supreme Commercial Court: Provisional Arbitral Awards Are Not Enforceable in Russia

In a recently published decision, the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Arbitrazh Court (“SC”) held that provisional awards of arbitral tribunals are not enforceable in the Russian Federation. The SC said Russian law only provides for enforcement of awards that are final and actually resolve the substance of the dispute. Facts of the case Living […]

The European Court of Human Rights: an Arbitration Award Can Be Expropriated
By 9 December, 2010 0 Comments Read More →

The European Court of Human Rights: an Arbitration Award Can Be Expropriated

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled in Kin-Stib & Majkic v. Serbia that failure to enforce an arbitral award amounts to violation of the right to peaceful enjoyment of possession. This note first summarizes the ruling and then considers its implications. In particular, it discusses whether an arbitral award can be expropriated by […]

New Legal Regime for Mediation in Russia

New Legal Regime for Mediation in Russia

A set of rules aimed at regulating mediation in the Russian Federation is due to enter into force on 1 January 2011. It includes Federal Law On Alternative Procedure of Dispute Settlement with Participation of Mediator (Mediation Procedure) and a separate set of amendments to the Russian procedural laws designed to incorporate mediation into the […]

The Yukos Legal Insurgency
By 7 December, 2010 1 Comments Read More →

The Yukos Legal Insurgency

When former Yukos shareholders promised a “life-long litigation” for their assets, very few took it seriously. After all, until recently there have been no precedents of successful enforcement of arbitration awards against the Russian Federation. But this perception has been changing over the last last few months, with Yukos shareholders advancing on at least three […]