Conference “The New Vienna Rules – Quality Arbitration at Your Doorstep” took place in Kyiv

On 13 November the Vienna International Arbitral Centre held a conference “The New Vienna Rules – Quality Arbitration at Your Doorstep” on the premises of Opera Hotel in Kyiv. The conference highlighted the provisions and main changes in the Vienna Rules 2013.

The new Vienna Rules became effective on 1 July 2013. The rules give parties an opportunity to opt for an expedited arbitration procedure.

The new Vienna Rules stipulate the procedures for joinder of third parties at the discretion of the tribunal and the consolidation of claims in specified circumstances. The speakers indicated that the new Vienna Rules have certain advantages comparing with the previous version and positively evaluated the principal changes.

In addition, the participants of the conference discussed the issues of  the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, in particular in multi-party proceedings; costs of arbitration and arbitral awards in the case of non-payment of the advanced costs; and the Austrian Supreme Court as the first and final instance for the annulment of awards.

Joint UAA and ICDR Y&I Programme “Building a Career in International Arbitration”

In the evening the Ukrainian Arbitration Association (UAA) jointly with the International Centre for Dispute Resolution Young & International (ICDR Y&I) held a programme “Building a Career in International Arbitration” in Alfavito Hotel, Kyiv. Vladimir Khvalei from Baker & McKenzie (Moscow), a keynote speaker of the event, addressed the recent trends (such as the gradual increase of arbitrators under 40; the gradual increase of women arbitrators etc.) in international arbitration and shared his own experience, including on the establishment of the International Arbitration Court at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The President of the UAA Tatyana Slipachuk, Sayenko Kharenko (Kyiv) moderated the roundtable discussion. The speakers shared their experience in practising international arbitration and provided students and young lawyers with valuable advice on how to break into the international arbitration world and become a successful international arbitration practitioner. In particular, the speakers advised the development of good communication skills, to try to specialize in a particular field of law and also stressed the importance of knowledge of foreign languages.

In addition, they stated that to be successful in arbitration the young practitioner, together with practising arbitration, should permanently aim higher, e.g. read arbitration news, improve his/her knowledge on specific issues and participate in different arbitration events. The speakers recommended the work “How to Break Into Arbitration: Useful Resources for Students and Young Practitioners” by Mark Kantor which provides a vast variety of useful arbitration resources for young practitioners.

Young Arbitrators Forum “Third Parties” in International Arbitration”

In the evening another arbitration event took place in Cityhotel. The International Chamber of Commerce together with Vasil Kisil & Partners held Young Arbitrators Forum “Third Parties” in International Arbitration”.

Dr. Marc Blessing, Bär & Karrer AG (Zurich) delivered the keynote address “Arbitration Agreement and Third Parties” from the arbitrator’s perspective. Dr. Blessing covered the widely discussed issues of extending an arbitration agreement to non-signatories, such as an assignee of a claim, a third-party beneficiary, those behind the marionette companies and others.

In the context of the extension to third-party beneficiaries, arbitrators from civil law countries tend to analyse the text of the contract together with other elements such as the oral testimonies of negotiators and the behaviour of parties after conclusion of the contract etc. In contrast, in common law countries only the text of the contract usually matters.

In absence of an answer in the contract the arbitrator from the common law jurisdiction will look for the relevant case law. In addition, the speaker highlighted that extension to the state takes place for the acts of its organs, instrumentalities and officials, which are directly attributable to the state.

The speakers also discussed ICC insights to joining additional parties to arbitration proceedings, non-signatories in arbitration in Ukraine and other CIS countries and enforcement of awards against such non-signatories.

Summing up, November was truly a month of arbitration for Kyiv. The events of 13 November 2013 took place on the eve of Kyiv Arbitration Days held by the Ukrainian Bar Association on 14-15 November 2013 and the International Arbitration Readings in Memory of Academician Igor Pobirchenko held by the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the UCCI (Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), the Maritime Arbitration Commission at the UCCI jointly with the Institute of Private Law and Entrepreneurship of the Ukrainian National Academy of Law Sciences.

Tetyana Makukha

Junior Associate at Sayenko Kharenko