issue #19, week 27. 02 July 2008
Prepared by TDM and Aloysius Gng (CEPMLP/Dundee)

TDM News Digest

provides a condensed overview of recent events of interest to the international arbitration community.

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NEWS

International Arbitration, series of 12 articles (1)

http://asia.legalbusinessonline.com/practice-area-reports/25389/details.aspx

ALB has invited both Drew & Napier LLC, International Arbitration firm of the Year winner at the 2007 ALB SE Asia law Awards, and Professor steve Ngo to participate in a project to contribute 12 articles to ALB magazine on topical issues in international arbitration.

In this first instalment, let's reflect on the growth and development of Singapore's arbitration industry.

...

Squire Sanders concludes Ann Summers dispute

June 26, http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133567&d=415&h=417&f=416

Douglas Rovens led the Squire Sanders team that advised Celine Gueyffier in a case against Ann Summers that claimed breach of contract after a business venture with the company collapsed.

...

Consultation on Arbitration (Scotland) Bill

June 27, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/26134341/0

The Bill will reform and consolidate the law of arbitration which is currently outdated and incomplete. The Bill will put the vast majority of the general Scots law of arbitration into a single statute. The aim is that in future anyone in Scotland, or anyone seeking to do business in Scotland, will be able to find in one place the principles governing the law of arbitration in Scotland in language which can be readily understood.

UAE: RAK Commercial Arbitration Centre to be set up

June 30, http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2008/June/theuae_June1047.xml&section=theuae&col=

His Highness Shaikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has issued Amiri Decree No 17/2008 for setting up the Ras Al Khaimah Commercial Arbitration Centre.

The centre would provide conciliation and arbitration services to business and commercial sectors in the emirate and outside.

...

BP Russian partners declare new board 'illegal'

June 28, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/27/cnbp127.xml

BP's billionaire partners in TNK-BP have declared "illegal" the election of a new board of directors for British-Russian oil joint venture. TNK-BP sought to patch up its board with the election of four new directors at its shareholders meeting. But the AAR consortium, controlled by the three billionaires, said the men would not serve on the board.

AAR said: "The decision to form a new board of directors composed of nine is illegal. Russian representatives confirmed their refusal to participate in the work of the board of directors elected at today's shareholder meeting."

...

Lufthansa loses appeal over $10 mln Russian tax claim

June 26, http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080626/112257786.html

Moscow's arbitration court upheld Thursday a 230 million ruble ($10 million) tax claim against German airline Lufthansa AG's Russian operator.

"The court has rejected the [airline's] appeal," the judge said.

The Russian government has frozen several bank accounts belonging to Deutsche Lufthansa AG in Russia over tax payments.

...

FDI Moot Competition update

The inaugural FDI Moot Competition is up-and-running and there are an impressive 24 teams competing from many countries including Australia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Poland (2 teams), Romania, Russia, Serbia and United States (10 teams).

These teams will travel to Boston for the oral hearings on November 1-2, 2008, and are also invited to attend the conference, Investor-State Arbitration: Perspectives on Legitimacy and Practice, to be held on October 31, 2008.

More information about the FDI Moot Competition at www.fdimoot.org

Centre Founder Sir Elihu Lauterpacht added to Eminent Scholar's Archive

June 25, http://www.lcil.cam.ac.uk/news/article.php?section=25&article=698

The Lauterpacht Centre's founder, Professor Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, has been added to the Squire Law Library's Eminent Scholar's Archive. The archive includes seven interviews, conducted by Lesley Dingle between January and May 2008, in which Sir Eli reminises about his association with the Faculty of Law, including his founding of the Centre.

The Eminent Scholar's Archive is an expanding archive in which the careers and achievements of eminent scholars associated with the Squire Law Library and Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge are documented. The archive contains extensive bibliographies, biographies, photographs and interviews with some of the world's most renowned academic and practising lawyers.

...

PWC Wins Right to Appeal Ruling on Russian Tax Case

June 24, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121425352030597803.html

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC won a reprieve from a Russian appeals court Monday in a closely watched case in which lower courts ruled the auditor was an active participant in tax evasion at now-bankrupt oil giant OAO Yukos.

...

Telenor Takes Action to Stop Farimex's Russian Lawsuit

June 23, http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=871784

Telenor has requested the US Federal District Court in New York to stop Farimex from pursuing a lawsuit against Telenor in Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia. On Friday, 20 June, Telenor filed a lawsuit against Alfa Group affiliates Farimex Products, Inc., Altimo Holdings & Investments and Eco Telecom, requesting the Court to compel Farimex to arbitrate its claim in an arbitration proceeding commenced by Eco Telecom in March 2008.

"Farimex is controlled by Alfa, and its claim is just another one of Alfa's collusive lawsuits," said Dag Melgaard, Vice President Telenor Group Communications. "Farimex's only director is Dmitry Fridman, Mikhail Fridman's first cousin. Dmitry Fridman signed the power of attorney that authorized Farimex's lawsuit. The only evidence produced by Farimex for its holding of ADRs in VimpelCom is a letter from Alfa Capital Holdings (Cyprus) Ltd., and many of the documents that were attached to Farimex's claim can only have come from Alfa or VimpelCom."

Farimex filed a 3.8 billion USD claim against Telenor in a remote court in Siberia less than one month after Eco Telecom started a 1 billion USD arbitration proceeding in Geneva, Switzerland under the VimpelCom Shareholders Agreement. The Eco Telecom arbitration claim is essentially identical to the claim filed by Farimex. Both Farimex and Eco Telecom allege that Telenor's nominees on VimpelCom's Board delayed VimpelCom's acquisition of loss-making Ukrainian mobile operator Ukrainian Radio System and thereby harmed VimpelCom. In addition to naming Telenor as a defendant, Farimex also named Eco Telecom, Altimo and other Alfa Group entities as defendants. Telenor believes this was done in order to link the case to Khanty-Mansiysk where one of the Alfa Group parties has its registered office and to create an appearance of independence on the part of Farimex.

...

us Supreme Court to hear Iran compensation, Navy sonar cases

June 23, http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/06/supreme-court-to-hear-iran-compensation.php

The US Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear seven cases, including Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi (07-615). In that case, the Court will consider whether the brother of dissident Cyrus Elahi, assassinated in Paris in 1990, can collect on a default judgment he holds against Iran by attaching a $2.8 million judgment obtained by the Iranian Ministry of Defense against California-based Cubic Defense Systems. ...

Visit http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/06/supreme-court-to-hear-iran-compensation.php for more information including links to websites with background information and various documents.

Kenya, Arbitration cuts backlog in courts

June 24, http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8355&Itemid=5844

When arbitration is fully embraced as an alternative solution to resolving intriguing commercial disputes, a great deal of workload in the Judiciary will be eased.

Consequently, arbitration awards will become easier to enforce than court judgments and the overall costs in the process made less than litigation.

A quick glance at the daily case list at the Milimani Commercial and Tax Division Court leaves no doubt that majority of cases before judges and magistrates there revolve around commercial disputes.

...

Sudan's rival factions to resolve Abyei dispute in The Hague

http://www.cjbk.com/news/56/741621

Sudan's state news agency has reported that the country's rival northern and southern politicians have agreed to use the international court of arbitration in The Hague to resolve conflicting claims on the oil-rich Abyei region.

SUNA quoted Al-Dirdiri Ahmed, an official with the northern party, as saying that a five-member arbitration council would be made up of members picked by both sides

...

Resolving disputes

June 21, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/522346-written-statements-can-help-to-resolve-disputes-?ln=en

Anthony Page, of HBJ Gateley Wareing, says written witness statements can improve prospects of a better outcome in construction disputes.

Matthias Scherer to co-edit a new arbitration journal

Matthias Scherer will co-edit with Dr Michele Patocchi the latest international arbitration journal, the Swiss International Arbitration Law Reports (Swiss Int'l Arb Law Rep). The Reports will focus on reporting case law of the Swiss Supreme Court, with judgments provided in their original language and with an English translation. More information at http://www.jurispu b.com/363/swiss-international-arbitration-law-reports

PODCASTS

Arbitrator Bias - An Interview with Sophie Nappert

Bias is "a little bit of a four-letter word" when it comes to arbitration, London practitioner Sophie Nappert tells host Mike McIlwrath in this week's podcast. But bias also includes the basics about the process that parties and their representatives need to know: where the arbitrator is coming from, and the frame from which the arbitrator will view the issues. Sophie and Mike analyze parties' different cultural perceptions of arbitrator bias in international arbitration, leading to advice on how to deploy the "strategic use of bias" in their ADR practices.

Note: This podcast accompanies the TDM Special on Arbitrator Bias we published this week.

This episode is available for download here www.cpradr.org/audio1.asp

Mediation as Opportunity - An Interview with Ben Picker

Mediation is a name called "Opportunity": This week, Mike discusses party negotiation strategies from the viewpoint of veteran mediator/trainer Bennett G. Picker, a partner in Philadelphia's Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. See Ben's bio. Ben provides strategic thinking on how parties can identify and take advantage of opportunities when negotiating disputes, and how mediation presents an ideal forum for creating these opportunities. This IDN episode dissects party negotiating positions from a master's point of view, and shows how strategic thinking about something as basic as offers and counteroffers can shift the bargaining to a party's side of the table.

Listen closely. Not wanting to miss an opportunity even when discussing a hypothetical dispute, Ben e-mailed IDN after the recording to note that, on reflection, the defendant might have even greater success at the end of the negotiations if it were to start with a counter-intuitively higher--yet more credible--initial counteroffer of $1.2 million, as opposed to the $750,000 discussed in the podcast.

This is strategic thinking in dispute negotiations at its best.

This episode is available for download here www.cpradr.org/audio1.asp

EVENTS

UK-China Alternative Dispute Resolution Seminar Held in Beijing

http://www.cietac.org/english/news/news.htm

UK-China Alternative Dispute Resolution Seminar with UK Trade & Investment, China-Britain Business Council, CCPIT Mediation Center and China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) as the co-sponsors was held in Beijing on 27 June 2008.

Nowadays, further economic globalization means opportunities for both UK and China. Enterprises in both nations have benefited much from the fast developed international economy and trade. However, disputes and conflicts between enterprises cannot be avoided in economic and trade activities. Arbitration and mediation, as alternative dispute resolution ways, are more and more widely accepted in the commercial circle due to their features of time and energy saving, low cost, efficiency, expertise and win-win purpose. Mr. Dong Songgen, the Vice Chairman of CCPIT & CIETAC, the Chairman of CCPIT Mediation Center made a speech at the opening ceremony of the Seminar.

Mr. Dong pointed out that it is the best choice for enterprises to solve disputes and make further development by way of arbitration and mediation, which falls within the principal of constructing a harmonious society and world promoted by Chinese government. The arbitration and mediation circles of both nations have maintained long-term friendship and cooperation. Recently, the bilateral practical cooperation and academic exchange have been especially frequent and active. Such mutual cooperation and exchange may help the further development of both nations' arbitration and mediation, and enhance the friendly economic and trade relationship between them. The delegation headed by Mr. David Lewis, the Lord Mayor of the City of London was visiting China during the Seminar. Mayor David Lewis attended the opening ceremony along with other delegation members and made an ebullient speech introducing the tradition and legal frame of UK commercial dispute resolution. UK enterprise representatives at Beijing and institutions in China took part in the Seminar, having discussion with Chinese enterprise representatives.

The Seminar covered three topics on Arbitration in UK, Arbitration in China and Comparison between the two nations' mediation system.

...

Specialised Arbitration & Advocacy Skills in International Oil & Gas Disputes

Seminar Presenters: Professor T.W. Walde; Tim Martin, Esq; Arif Hyder Ali, Esq; William H. Knull III, Esq and others.
September 08 - 12. Hilton Hotel, Dundee
More information is available at the CEPMLP website

Foreign Direct Investment International Moot Competition - Investor-State Arbitration: Perspectives on Legitimacy and Practice

The FDI Moot promotes an understanding of international investment laws and of arbitration as an effective mechanism for the adjudicating international investment disputes. The event attracts not only the student participants but also lawyers from the around the world, who act as judges as part of a program that allows them also to discuss in a collegial environment developments affecting the field. The FDI Moot involves a hypothetical case in connection with an investment by a private foreign investor. Each year’s hypothetical is prepared by the competition’s Advisory Board, composed of distinguished academics and practitioners in the fields of international arbitration, investor-State arbitration and international investment regulation.
October 31 - November 2. Boston, Massachusetts.
More information is available at www.fdimoot.org.

Short overview of upcoming events

The above information is reproduced from the International Arbitration Planner by kind permission of Lovells (www.lovells.com and www.lovells.com/arbitration). More details on these and many other events can be found at www.arbitrationevents.com

MOVES / JOBS

Huron Consulting Group Adds Managing Directors to International Arbitration & Business Development Teams

June 25, http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2008/06/25/businesswire20080625005201r1.html

Huron Consulting Group, a leading provider of financial and operational consulting services, today announced that Robert J. Pawlak and Peter J. Salt have joined the Company as managing directors.

"We continue to add the industry's most accomplished professionals to address client and company needs," said Gary E. Holdren, chairman and chief executive officer of Huron Consulting Group. "Bob will help spearhead business development strategies to increase Huron's marketplace presence. Peter's arbitration and loss adjusting expertise will be an asset to clients facing international business disputes issues."

...

BOOKS

Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation: The Fordham Papers 2007

Edited by: Arthur W. Rovine
ISBN13: 9789004167384
ISBN: 9004167382
Published: June 2008
Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Binding: Hardback

These are the 2007 Fordham Papers, the first annual volume of papers on international arbitration and mediation written by leading figures in these fields who spoke at the 2007 annual conference on international arbitration and mediation held at the Fordham Law School in New York City. The five chapters of 23 papers address current issues of international arbitration, including investor-state arbitration, the conduct of international arbitration and jurisdictional issues, remedies and defenses, recent developments in arbitrator disclosure law and practice, and international mediation, including ethics, training, process, and growth of mediation. The papers focus on both practical considerations and scholarly analyses.

Contributors include: Antonio Parra, Lucy Reed, Daina Bray, Brigitte Stern, Barton Legum, Hon.Charles Brower, Michael Ottolenghi, Yves Derains, Judith Gill, John Barcelo, Yuval Shany, Jonas Benedictsson, Julian Lew, Sigvard Jarvin, Richard Mosk, Robert Davidson, James Carter, Lorraine Brennan, Michael Hwang, Katie Chung, Fong Lee Cheng, Kathleen Scanlon, Hon. Fern Smith, Jon Lang, Eileen Carroll, Norris Yang, and Mercedes Tarrazon.

International Construction Arbitration Handbook

By Troy L. Harris, John W Hinchey
Book - hardbound
Thomson Reuters West
ISBN-13: 9780314991973
List Price: $135.00

King & Spalding lawyers, John W. Hinchey and Troy L. Harris have written a new book entitled International Construction Arbitration Handbook, published by Thomson Reuters West, a global leader in providing essential information to business and professional customers around the world.

This handbook is a practice manual for advocates and arbitrators who engage or may engage in international construction arbitral proceedings. It focuses on the unique aspects of construction arbitration, placing particular emphasis on international construction arbitration. The handbook is not intended to duplicate traditional handbooks or treatises on commercial arbitration; rather it concentrates on construction dispute resolution that is binding on the parties, either for an interim time period or permanently.