Since 2013 the Russian legislator is reforming arbitration laws of Russia. The reason for the reform was a the lack of consistency in Russian arbitration regulations, existence of so-called “pocket arbitration tribunals” and sham arbitration tribunals. The reform aims to facilitate the stability and transparency of the system. The first draft law on arbitration was introduced by Russian Ministry of […]
The recent decision of the Russian Supreme Court in the case of Geotrest LLC v Gazprom Invest Vostok LLC and an earlier decision of the Constitutional Court indicate a significant change in the approach of Russian courts to the so-called “pocket arbitration courts”. These decisions contradict the previous practice and will most likely lead to significant […]
Unlike in the United Kingdom or the United States, international forum shopping is rarely at issue in Russian case law or legal doctrine. However, disputes related to forum shopping do arise in Russia: it happens that the same disputes fall within the jurisdiction of national courts of several states, e.g. the national court of the […]
In a recent decision the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation found that a notice of arbitration proceedings to the parent company’s general counsel was proper in the context of the facts of the case. The decision has also raised discussions about other related issues: first, in which cases could such notice be improper and […]
Recent judgments of the Ukrainian courts have again attracted attention to the issue of arbitrability, which remains under debate both in theory and in practice in Ukraine. This time court practice deals with disputes arising out of the so-called “commercial contracts related to satisfaction of the state’s needs” (“Public Procurement Contracts”). The judgments discussed in […]
On 28 July 2014 a historic award in Yukos v. The Russian Federation rendered by the arbitral tribunal seated in The Hague finally became publicly available. The tribunal ordered Russia to pay more than 50 billion US$ for its expropriation of Yukos, making this award the biggest one in the history of international arbitration. Considering the circumstances, […]
Foreign and Russian legal practitioners quite often note the absence of legal enforceability of “warranties” as a shortcoming of the Russian legal system. Meanwhile, the situation is changing as, on 10 July 2014, the Ninth Commercial Appellate Court confirmed the judgment of the Moscow Commercial Court acknowledging the legal force of “contractual warranties” and the duty of parties to […]
Recent Russian commercial court judgments illustrate a new trend in the interpretation of framework supply agreements (“FSA”). The newly developed approach is supposed to become more sensitive to good faith, party willingness and intentions and factual and legal discourse. In Taganrog Automobile Plant v Hyundai Motor Company (case № 15AP-8173/2014) the courts implemented the Russian Supreme Commercial […]
Kiev Arbitration Days 2014: Think Big! (KAD 2014) will take place on 6-7 November 2014 in Radisson Blu Hotel, Kiev, Ukraine. The conference is conducted under the auspices of the Ukrainian Bar Association. CIS Arbitration Forum is an media partner of the event. The KAD 2014 will bring together world-class dispute resolution practitioners and prominent arbitration experts to discuss problems […]
Last Friday the Supreme Commercial Court released its full reasons for the decision in Nortel v UNI. The Court ruled that an English judgment may not be enforced in Russia, because the respondents had not participated in the English proceedings nor had they been served in accordance with the Hague Convention. The decision may result in delays in […]
In a recent decision the Supreme Court of Ukraine confirmed that the respondent may not prevent enforcement of an arbitral award simply by claiming that it had not received notice.online pharmacy https://www.arborvita.com/wp-content/themes/spacious/inc/new/ventolin.html no prescription drugstore The decision also confirms that the respondent may not circumvent the general allocation of burden of proof mandated by the […]
A significant number of foreign assets can be found in the territory of the Russian Federation. As such, the country may become a popular venue for the enforcement of arbitral awards against foreign entities. This post looks at Russian law and practice when it comes to enforcement of arbitral awards against parties that are not incorporated in […]
Parties’ use of arbitration for improper purposes has been a topic of growing concern for the Russian business community, courts and state authorities. While an extensive overhaul of the Russian arbitration law to address these concerns is underway, courts employ available procedural mechanisms to combat abuse.online pharmacy https://kendrickfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/new/trazodone.html no prescription drugstore This week the Presidium of […]
Russian courts have traditionally been cautious in dealing with ambiguous and too general arbitration clauses. online pharmacy https://meadfamilydental.com/wp-content/themes/twentyseventeen/assets/css/css/zithromax.html no prescription Where parties agree that their disputes “shall be resolved by arbitration” without more the clause is unlikely to be enforced. However, Russia’s participation in the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (the “European Convention”) provides […]
Under article II of the New York Convention if a state court is seized of a matter covered by an arbitration agreement it shall refer the parties to arbitration if one of the parties requests such a referral. In a recent decision the Federal Commercial Court for the North-Western Circuit provided important guidance as to the timing […]
Earlier this year we covered a case, where the Russian courts refused to enforce an award citing lack of proper notice to the respondent. The courts agreed with the respondent that a person purporting to act on respondent’s behalf lacked the power to do so. The story was not over though as this week a […]
A recently-published judgment of the High Court in the case JSC VTB Bank v Skurikhin has confirmed that Russian judgments can be enforced in England and Wales. The English court recovered from the defendant all amounts claimed under the Russian judgments (622 million rubles) with exclusion of penalties because the judge decided “that they are punitive in […]
Russia’s highest commercial court has ruled that arbitral tribunals cannot resolve disputes arising out of government contracts. The court quashed the decisions of lower courts granting enforcement of a domestic arbitral award in a dispute between a government agency and a company. The dispute arose out of a government contract by which the company agreed to […]
A 28 January 2014 ruling of the Russian Supreme Commercial Court (the “SCC”) will have significant repercussions for international litigation involving Russian parties. According to the SCC a foreign judgment will be enforceable in Russia only if the proceedings were served on the Russian party through official channels provided by the Hague Convention on the […]
In late autumn 2013 Infotropic Media publishing house released a treatise “Summary proceedings in civil cases” (in Russian language). The author of this book is Zoya Papulova, a young researcher and a practicing lawyer in Yekaterinburg (Southern Urals). The general editor of the book is meritorious jurist of Russia, doctor of law professor Irina Reshetnikova. The author analyses […]
In a case currently pending before the commercial courts of the North-Western Circuit, the Russian courts will get an opportunity to confirm that disputes arising out of share purchase agreements are arbitrable. Over the past few years several courts have ruled that they are not. With arbitration remaining the preferred means for Russian M&A disputes’ […]
The case deals with the tribunal’s ability to void on the basis of an alleged breach of a public law requirement. A panel of Supreme Commercial Court judges decided this week to refer the matter to the Presidium. The panel relied on a number of grounds justifying setting aside an award applying such rules. In particular, […]
A decision of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan of 20 August 2013 confirms that bankruptcy issues are not capable of settlement by arbitration under the laws of Kyrgyzstan. The decision may be seen as a clarification that the relevant restriction applies both to domestic and international arbitration. Facts of the Case In a contract concluded […]
On 8 October 2013 the Supreme Commercial Court recognised a judgment of the High Court of Northern Ireland (the “Judgment”). This is the first time a Russian court has recognised a judgment from this jurisdiction. The Court recognised the Judgment without enforcement because the Judgment does not require monetary recovery. Recognition without enforcement means that the Russian court acknowledged […]
In 2012 the Supreme Commercial Courts famously voided a dispute resolution clause, which entitled only one of the parties to choose between arbitration and litigation. Now the Russian courts have to decide whether to enforce a clause, which provides that the buyer should submit all its claims to arbitration, while the supplier should litigate any […]
Earlier this week, the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court released the full text of its resolution in Bosch v. Avtosped (a case we covered earlier). Unsurprisingly, the court dismissed Bosch’s claims and referred them to arbitration. However, the Supreme Commercial Court used the case to go over some basic rules that the Russian courts […]
The Supreme Commercial Court is set to rule in two cases, which revolve around the fundamental principle of nemo iudex in causa sua. The cases arise out two arbitral awards. First case: the Arbitration Court of Gazprom rendered an award in favour of a Gazprom-affiliated entity. Second case: the tribunal administered by the Center of Dispute […]
Later this year the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court will hear an appeal in ENEL OGK-5 v CJSC ROS Postakva and Worley Parsons Europe Energy Services Ltd. The issues before the court are the arbitral tribunal’s power to assess evidence and the effect an alleged lack of jurisdiction over part of the dispute has on […]
On 2 August 2013, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) published a press-release about the decision made in a complex and highly controversial case on match-fixing, involving ten individuals and two football clubs from Ukraine – FC Metalist Kharkiv (“FC Metalist”) and FC Karpaty Lviv (“FC Karpaty”). The Tribunal sanctioned the Sports Director of FC Metalist and six football players for being directly […]
Yesterday the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation affirmed relevant lower courts’ decisions to set aside a domestic arbitral award. It found that enforcement of an award requiring the respondent to pay penalty interest in the amount clearly exceeding the damages suffered by the claimant violates Russian public policy. While the […]
Last Friday the Supreme Commercial Court released a long-awaited review of case law in cross-border disputes (disputes involving a foreign party) (for our earlier report on the draft review see here). While such reviews are not de jure binding, they are as a matter of practice followed by the lower courts and provide reliable guidance to litigants. The […]
In a pending case Russian courts are looking at whether the arbitral tribunal may extend its jurisdiction to the City of Moscow on the basis of an arbitration clause in a contract to which a department of the city government is a party. In March 2013, the tribunal (Professor Sherstobitov (chair) and Professors Komarov and […]
On 16 July the Supreme Commercial Court will consider whether an arbitration clause which consists of a reference to the ICC Rules of Arbitration is enforceable. The lower courts ruled that it was not, finding that it was not specific enough, with parties failing to agree on an institution to administer the arbitration. At first […]
Competition and cooperation between legal systems is the opening theme of the plenary session of the International Legal Forum in Saint Petersburg on 15-18 May 2013. In October 2012 the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Commercial Court (“SCC”) issued a resolution dealing with competition between foreign and Russian jurisdictions which is relevant to this session and of interest to international litigation practitioners. […]
Validity of choice-of-court agreements, possibility of piercing the corporate veil and falling under jurisdiction of Russian court have always been important concerns for international companies doing business in Russia or with Russian legal entities. The Russian Supreme Commercial (Arbitrazh) Court (“SCC”) will soon clarify these issues in an Informational letter with a Review of Certain […]
Later this year the Presidium of Russia’s Supreme Commercial Court will decide whether service by means other than those under the Hague Convention constitutes proper notice sufficient for enforcement of the resulting judgment of a foreign court. The decision will have significant repercussions for international litigations involving respondents based in Russia, since to date in many […]
On 12 March 2013 a Russian court held that an award rendered in Russia may not be set aside if the parties have agreed that it will be final and have waived any recourse against it.online pharmacy https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/new/symbicort.html no prescription drugstore The Federal Commercial Court for the Moscow Circuit ruled that in such cases the […]
We have already reported on the building up of Russian case law on the recognition of foreign court judgments on the basis of reciprocity and international comity. An important advantage of this practice for Russian parties and courts is that it creates a basis for the recognition and enforcement of Russian court decisions in foreign states […]
The continuing financial instability worldwide has its impact on all areas law, including arbitration. The number of cases where insolvent parties are involved in arbitration or have entered into agreements containing arbitration clauses is rising and has over the past year generated significant jurisprudence of the Russian courts. Notably, the Supreme Commercial Court in a […]
The Supreme Commercial Court has published a draft information letter summarising the practice of the application of the public policy defence in enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and court judgments proceedings (the “Practice Review”). While not technically binding an information letter adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court is usually deferred to by […]
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