issue #21, week 31. 29 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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Recent issues:

NEWS

Biwater $20m Tanzanian claim fails

July 28, http://uk.oneworld.net/article/view/160940/1/5795

The World Development Movement has learnt that the UK water company Biwater has failed in its bid to claim up to US$20 million in damages from the Tanzanian government following the collapse of a controversial water privatisation contract in 2005.

This case was heard at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). In 2003, a subsidiary of Biwater, City Water Services, took on a water privatisation contract in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government cancelled the contract after less than two years, citing City Water Services' failure to meet the targets set in the contract. One of City Water's parent companies, controlled by Biwater, launched this legal action alleging its investor rights had been breached and sought damages from the Tanzanian government. The Tribunal has found that while technical breaches of Biwater's investor rights did occur, Biwater was not entitled to compensation because the breaches were worth zero in monetary value and that the termination of the contract was inevitable.

...

Biwater 'too broke to pay Dar'

July 28, http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/business/index.php?id=6174

The World Bank should pay the government after it won an expropriation case against Biwater Gauff (Tanzania) Limited. Dr Nimrod Mkono, the advocate who defended the government in the case, said that the company, which operated as City Water, was bankrupt and cannot pay damages awarded.

He suggests that the World Bank should pay the government since it was the bank that approved the company to come and operate in the country. "The whole affair was the prescription of the World Bank. It will be fair that they should pay the government," he said.

...

Arbitration Panel Orders Inverness Medical To Pay Distributor

July 28, http://www.macroworldinvestor.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=315491711

Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. said that it received a decision from an arbitration tribunal ordering Inverness' Binax subsidiary to pay its distributor in Spain and Portugal around $13.8 million

...

British University in Dubai Expands Courses After Major MoU Signing with King's College London

July 27, http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093205667

Growing Demand for Higher Education in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution to Tackle Complexities of GCC Construction Industry.

The British University in Dubai (BUiD), the region's first research-based postgraduate university, announced today it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the King's College London to offer a new MSc Degree in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution.

...

In launching the new course, BUiD executives believe they will be able to provide the right mix of locally-trained specialists to support the construction industry. The course hopes to attract students from all sides of the construction industry and its professions, including lawyers (barristers and solicitors), engineers of various disciplines, architects, surveyors and other professionals.

...

Louise Barrington, Director, Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, King's College London, commented, "We are delighted that BUiD has chosen the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution at King's as its partner in this exciting project. It's certainly a reflection of the high esteem enjoyed worldwide by the Centre's MSc programme."

The Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, one of the nine schools of study at King College London, has already developed a strong presence in the UAE through several seminars that were conducted through the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC).

"The course offers study and research into law and management relating to the construction industry and will help nurture a new generation of talent who will encourage the growth of a knowledge-based economy within the construction sector," finished Dr.Alshamsi.

Research interests cover forms of contract, dispute resolution, regulation of construction, international and comparative aspects of construction law, structural safety.

...

X5 Retail says to file arbitration claims against Russian antitrust body

July 23, http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/07/23/afx5245312.html or http://www.x5.ru/en/press/press_releases/index.php?id4=515

X5 Retail Group N.V. said it will file arbitration claims against the Russian antitrust body regarding the latter's approval of the Karusel hypermarket chain acquisition, saying that the body's actions are illegitimate.

...

Constellation Energy Partners Receives Favorable Outcome in Torch Arbitration

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=205244&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1178415&highlight=

Constellation Energy Partners LLC (NYSE: CEP) today announced it received a favorable ruling in the arbitration proceeding relating to the net profits interest (NPI) held by Torch Energy Royalty Trust in the majority of the company's assets in Alabama's Black Warrior Basin. In issuing its final award, the arbitration panel concluded that a price sharing arrangement and other pricing terms of a terminated gas purchase contract continue to burden the NPI and will do so for the life of the NPI. The price sharing arrangement and related pricing terms have had the effect of keeping payments to the trust significantly lower than if the NPI were calculated using the prevailing market price for production from the applicable wells.

"We are extremely pleased with the ruling," said Stephen Brunner, president and chief executive officer. "The ruling keeps in place important pricing terms that impact the economics for a majority of our properties in the Black Warrior Basin. Most importantly, this decision brings closure to the dispute that is both contractually and financially important for our company and provides further support for delivering cash flow stability and future growth to our investors."

Constellation Energy Partners LLC (www.constellationenergypartners.com) is a limited liability company focused on the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties, as well as related midstream assets.

Banco de Oro replies

July 25, http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=jojoRobles_july25_2008

Last week, we wrote about the dispute involving health-care provider Maxicare between a group of that company's stockholders led by former Bataan Rep. Felicito Payumo, ex-Insurance Commissioner Benjamin Santos and lawyer Eduardo de los Angeles, the former president of the Philippine Stock Exchange, and Banco de Oro. The Payumo group is disputing the sale of 60 percent of Maxicare held by the bank to Antonio Go and his Pin-An Holdings, saying the shares should have been offered to them first as original stockholders.

We received a reply from Banco de Oro's law firm, Belo Gozon Elma Parel Asuncion & Lucila, which we are printing with only slight revisions for style below.

…

At the outset, please be advised of the appeal before the Court of Appeals after BDO won against the complaint filed by Payumo, De los Angeles and Santos in the Regional Trial Court in Makati. There is also, as you know, a request for arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce subsequently commenced in Singapore by the same Payumo group, after the Makati complaint was decided against the latter. Without delving into the procedural issues and within the parameters on permissible opinions, news reports and statements concerning court proceedings set by established jurisprudence, we state below the facts of the case and the BDO position as set out in the pleadings thus far filed before the appellate court.

...

International Investment Agreements should put more emphasis on promotion, new report says

July 21, http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=10183&intItemID=1528&lang=1

International investment agreements (IIAs) generally promote foreign investment only indirectly through the granting of investment protection. Very few contain explicit provisions on investment promotion. More emphasis on direct investment promotion in these treaties could help developing countries increase the likelihood of attracting new investments, a new UNCTAD report says.

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Study Shows ADR Helps Settle Cases, Save Time and Money

July 21, http://www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=34835

A study comparing the outcomes of litigation and ADR in civil cases handled by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that 65 percent of cases settled when ADR was used, while only 29 percent of cases settled when ADR was not used. It also showed that many assistant U.S. attorneys who handled the cases believed ADR helped save time and money.

This is the first comprehensive study of ADR use at the DOJ. It examined civil cases involving the federal government between 1995 and 1998. Out of the 15,288 cases examined, 96.7 percent (14,777 cases) went through traditional litigation processes, while 3.3 percent (511 cases) utilized ADR.

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Angola: Firms Recommended to Settle Disputes Through Arbitration

July 21, http://www.macroworldinvestor.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=314642361

Angolan Justice minister, Manuel Aragao, Friday in Luanda, recommended the companies to settle their disputes through arbitration.

Opening the seminar on "Mediation and arbitration in the Angolan reality, its importance in settling disputes and integration in contracts", the minister also spoke of the need for a culture of settlement of conflicts through arbitration.

Manuel Aragao recalled that arbitration is a peaceful, differentiated and specific means for each concrete case, always recommendable in the business world.

...

Commentary: Ecuador's Mess

http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=2594

Thanks to an angry and authoritarian president, Ecuador will see less private investment and more poverty.

Over the weekend, Ecuador's constitutional assembly delivered its formal draft for a new constitution. It is heavily skewed towards socialism and follows the recommendations of Ecuador's angry and authoritarian President Rafael Correa.

If approved in a referendum in September, it will result in less private - local and foreign - investment and more poverty in a country that needs more of the former and less of the latter.

But Ecuador's problems don't stop there. The appointment of Wilma Salgado, a member of anti-debt group Jubilee 2000, has raised renewed concern that Ecuador won't pay its foreign debt.

...

Opinion: High oil prices are fuelling the flames of energy disputes

July 21, http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=133863&d=415&h=417&f=416

Ben Holland, energy disputes partner, CMS Cameron McKenna

The nature of these disputes and the tensions giving rise to them reveal trends, and their importance to the wider economy cannot be overstated.

The energy sector has always been a high-risk, high-value sector: high risk because the margin between success and failure is narrow - $50m (£25m) can be blown drilling a 'dry', unproductive oil well; high value largely due to the huge market for energy - the present consumption of power globally is around 15,000 gigawatts (GW). To put this in context, the largest power station in Europe, Drax in North Yorkshire, has an output of just 4GW, and this is almost twice that of any other power station in the UK.

...

US energy firm begins arbitration case against Ukraine for canceling exploration license

July 17, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/17/business/EU-Ukraine-US-Contract-Annulled.php

A U.S. energy company said Thursday that it has begun arbitration proceedings against Ukraine over its decision to revoke a license to explore and extract oil and gas in the Black Sea shelf.

Vanco-Prykerchenska Ltd., a local subsidiary of Texas-based Vanco Energy Co., said it filed the case Wednesday with the Arbitration Institute of Stockholm, Sweden. A production-sharing agreement signed with the Ukrainian government in October last year stipulates that such disputes are to be settled there.

...

RIL not to withdraw arbitration process

July 19, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/07/20/stories/2008072051260100.htm

Reliance Industries (RIL) will not withdraw the arbitration process it has initiated against Reliance Communications (RCom) even though the RCom-MTN talks have been called off, sources close to the disputing parties indicated.

The talks may have been called off, but RCom's intent to disregard the validity of what RIL holds as its Right of First Refusal remains the issue, said sources close to RIL. This would indicate that RIL wants to stall any such stakes sale by RCom in the future.

The arbitration process can, of course, move ahead only if RCom agrees to be a party to it. RIL has already nominated an arbitrator for disputes with RCom which would have to appoint its own arbitrator. The procedure then calls for a third arbitrator acceptable to both parties.

...

RComm-MTN tie-up under threat after RIL starts arbitration proceedings

July 18, http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp?id=1003260&cat=Health&head=RComm%2DMTN+tie%2Dup+under+threat+after+RIL+starts+arbitration+proceedings

Reliance Communications proposed tie-up with South Africa's telecom giant MTN could be derailed after corporate war between Ambani brothers intensified and arbitration proceedings were started against Anil Ambani's group.

Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries has said that it had started proceedings after the mobile carrier, led by his brother Anil, failed to participate in meetings to resolve a dispute concerning ownership of shares.

The brothers have barely spoken since 2002 when the death of their father led to a break-up of the family conglomerate, The Financial Times reported.

...

RIL starts arbitration against Anil's RCOM

July 17, http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/RIL-starts-arbitration-against-Anils-RCOM/336913/

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Thursday started arbitration process against RCOM and nominated Justice B P Jeevan Reddy as arbitrator for disputes with younger brother Anil's group firm, which is talking to South African telecom giant MTN for a merger deal.

In a statement, that almost coincided with RCOM's charge that RIL issued a fourth letter threatening legal action on MTN discussions, the Mukesh group's flagship company said, "RCOM has refused to participate in the conciliation meetings under the alternate dispute resolutions provisions contained in the Non-Competition Agreement. RIL has commenced arbitration proceedings by nominating Justice B P Jeevan Reddy, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India as an arbitrator for the resolution of the disputes."

RCOM spokesperson, on the other hand, said that "RIL's notice for arbitration proceedings is legally and factually unwarranted".

...

ATSG Receives Arbitration Ruling

July 18, http://www.forbes.com/businesswire/feeds/businesswire/2008/07/18/businesswire20080717006327r1.html

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) said that arbitrators have ruled that its subsidiary, ABX Air, was entitled to full reimbursement of its general overhead expense from its principal customer DHL during 2007. The arbitrators also ruled that ABX Air began earning more than 10% of its total revenues from non-DHL customers effective as of January 1, 2008, and directed DHL and ABX Air to commence negotiating in good faith to determine a reasonable allocation of ABX Air's overhead expenses related to its provision of non-DHL services.

...

Government of Belize ordered to pay Newco for Breach of Contract

July 16, http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=8264

The Government of Belize will have to pay close to nine million dollars to NEWCO following an international arbitration conducted under the United Nations Commission on International Trade law. This follows a breach of contract by the previous administration with the company in connection with the management of the PhilipGoldsonInternationalAirport. Prime Minister Dean Barrow told the nation today that he received a letter from the law offices of Robert W. Patterson in the U-S.

...

Venezuela-Exxon row is rekindled

July 16, http://www.upi.com/Energy_Resources/2008/07/16/Venezuela-Exxon_row_is_rekindled/UPI-35231216219446/

Venezuela is threatening to stop oil shipments to the United States if ExxonMobil is successful in once again freezing billions of dollars in overseas accounts belonging to Venezuela's state-run energy company PDVSA, a move that surely would send oil prices soaring.

"If they freeze us, the United States will have no more oil (from Venezuela) and the price per barrel will reach $300," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned over the weekend, his latest salvo in the continuing war of words between Caracas and Washington.

...

ICDR new guidelines for information disclosure and exchange in international arbitration proceedings [pdf]

http://www.adr.org/si.asp?id=5288

The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) has released new guidelines for information disclosure and exchange in international arbitration proceedings. The guidelines are meant to curb lengthy and expensive discovery in the arbitration of international cases, including construction disputes.

More at http://www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=34820

London Court of International Arbitration Clarifies JDZ Block 4 Interests

July 15, http://www.erhc.com/en/rel/?126 or http://www.addaxpetroleum.com/press_room/110

Tribunal awards Addax Petroleum 7.2 percent, ERHC 1.8 percent

ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea off the coast of central West Africa, today announced a resolution to its arbitration with Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC and LSE: AXC) regarding a nine percent portion of Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. A three-member tribunal of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) confirmed that under the Participation Agreement between the parties no further consideration is payable by Addax Petroleum to ERHC for Addax Petroleum's 7.2 percent share of the nine percent. ERHC is entitled to the remaining 1.8 percent out of the nine percent.

The nine percent became available for distribution between ERHC and Addax Petroleum after it was recovered from another consortium partner that had failed to meet certain obligations.

"We are pleased to have the distribution of the nine percent resolved so that we and our consortium partner can focus entirely on starting drilling in JDZ Block 4 as quickly as possible," said ERHC Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe. "Throughout this process, ERHC and Addax Petroleum have maintained their close working relationship."

The combined share of JDZ Block 4 held by ERHC and Addax Petroleum under the Participation Agreement is 60 percent. Following the ruling by the LCIA tribunal, ERHC's share of JDZ Block 4 increased from 17.7 percent to 19.5 percent. Addax Petroleum, the operator of the Block, saw its share of JDZ Block 4 increase from 38.3 percent to 45.5 percent, which includes a five percent interest acquired independently by Addax from a third party.

ERHC Energy has interests in six of the nine Blocks in the offshore JDZ between Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé & Príncipe. The Company has additional interests in the territorial waters of Democratic Republic of São Tomé & Príncipe known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

...

Structure for IMI Certified Mediator Competency Scheme announced by Independent Standards Commission

July 14, www.IMImediation.org

The Independent Standards Commission convened by IMI to draw up a global mediator competency certification standards has announced the structure of the Scheme, coupled to IMI's proposed Mediation Information Program.

IMI convened the Independent Standards Commission (ISC) in January 2008 by involving international thought-leaders in dispute resolution field drawn from users, mediators, mediation provider institutions, educationalists and adjudicators. The ISC is chaired by Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large, Professor Tommy Koh, with two Vice-Chairs, leading mediator Judith P. Meyer and Italy-based Michael McIlwrath, of General Electric. For the past six months the ISC has engaged in an extensive consultation process on the proposed Scheme and information program.

The Scheme and the Program envisage a credible, performance-orientated mediator selection capability with Mediators invited to apply for listing. Mediators will be listed based on their ability to meet high-level assessment criteria and standards as implemented by independent Reviewers and Assessors. The Scheme is simple, transparent, scalable and adaptable to different environments and cultures around the world. The Program will add an open online resource of impartial material, data and tools to advance the understanding of mediation and its various forms, to explain the value added by Mediators, and to provide guidance on how to get the most out of mediation.

The Independent Standard Commission members have begun work on the detailed standards, criteria and guidelines needed to make the Scheme and the Program operational in January 2009. These will be specified by the Commission and published on the IMI portal between September and November 2008. Meanwhile, the search engine needed to carry IMI Certified Mediator Profiles is being constructed.

Michael Leathes, IMI's Executive Director summarized: For mediation to grow as a recognized profession, users need transparency, assurance about competency standards, and easy access to impartial, objective guidance in making the right choices. This will significantly help bring more parties to mediation in the right frame of mind. IMI's Scheme will deliver vital benefits for users and also for quality mediators, providers and trainers as well as judiciaries worldwide.

Scheme structure: http://www.imimediation.org/?cID=certification_scheme

Q&As: http://www.imimediation.org/?cID=q__as

Commission members: http://www.imimediation.org/?cID=isc_list

Alternate dispute resolution gains popularity

July 14, http://www.ameinfo.com/163469.html

In its quest to further improve the quality and range of services for its members, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Dubai International Arbitration Center (DIAC) organized an awareness raising workshop on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), which is fast gaining popularity as an informal dispute resolution process, at the Chamber premises on Monday.

...

Bolivian government to continue talks with ETI

July 23, http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=24177

BNamericas is reporting that the Bolivian government will continue to deal directly with Euro Telecom International (ETI) regarding the troubled re-nationalisation of fixed-line telco Entel.

...

Telecom Italia asks UK court to intervene in Bolivian dispute

July 21, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4374073.ece

Telecom Italia, Europe's fifth-largest telecommunications company, will tomorrow ask a court in London to intervene in a dispute with the Bolivian government over the nationalisation of its holdings in the country, lawyers close to the case said.

In a bid to secure compensation from the Bolivian government, the Italian company will ask the Court of Appeal to freeze a bank account containing $49 million (£24.5 million) belonging to Entel, Bolivia's biggest provider of fixed line, broadband and mobile phone services.

...

ETI turns to ICSID over Entel nationalisation

July 15, http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=24048

BNamericas is reporting that Telecom Italia owned holding company Euro Telecom International (ETI) is looking to the World Bank's Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to resolve questions concerning the value of Entel, the Bolivian fixed line telco. Currently controlled by ETI, Entel is in the process of being nationalised by the government, but disagreements over the value of the company have arisen. The move comes after the Bolivian government issued a supreme decree to re-nationalise Entel at the beginning of May 2008.

...

Bolivia seizes funds moved by Telecom Italia

July 14, http://in.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idINN1446666320080714

Bolivia has seized some $49 million that Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) transferred to a British bank before the company's Bolivian subsidiary Entel was nationalized by the government earlier this year, officials said on Monday.

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the government takeover of Entel on May 1, claiming Telecom Italia failed to meet investment commitments and owed the state $645 million in fines and back taxes. The Bolivian government is facing legal challenges from the company over compensation.

...

Arbitral Awards Violating European Antitrust Laws: French Courts Cannot Help

http://www.conflictoflaws.net/2008/cases/arbitral-awards-violating-european-antitrust-laws-french-courts-cannot-help/

Are French courts willing to review arbitral awards on the ground that arbitrators violated European antitrust laws? As a matter of principle, French courts are extremely reluctant to review arbitral awards on the merits. In theory, an exception remains when the award violates French international public policy, but actual instances where French courts have found such violations are very few.

...

Indonesian Mine Exploration Regulation Analysist : decentralization hits investment in mining

http://investatasia.com/2008/07/15/mining-finance/indonesian-mine-exploration-regulation-analysist-decentralization-hits-investment-in-mining/

An ongoing dispute between the central and local governments over the disbursement of authority to manage licenses for mining operations is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. The country's mining sector has been plagued by overlapping mining regulations and weak coordination between central and local authorities.

Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) executive director Priyo Pribadi Soemarno told The Jakarta Post that loose interpretation of the regulations hampered the sector and created problems for foreign investors.

...

PODCASTS

Inside the ICC's Case Management Processes, Part I

This week, in the first of two parts, Mike goes behind the scenes at the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration in Paris with Francesca Mazza, an ICC senior case manager. The two episodes comprehensively cover ICC case management practices. This week's episode focuses on how the ICC's teams are organized, and how they work with the secretary general and the court, as well as common problems with requests for arbitration, and proceedings' general timing.

This episode is available for download here http://www.cpradr.org/TrainingEvents/Podcasts/tabid/261/Default.aspx

WEBLOGS

The First Mediation Knols

http://mediatorblahblah.blogspot.com/2008/07/first-mediation-knols.html

The first two mediation knols were published today - one from Italy by Mike McIlwrath and the other out of Boston by Dina Lynch Eisenberg.

...

TDM Note: The 'knol' by Mike McIlwrath can be found here http://knol.google.com/k/michael-mcilwrath/finding-an-international-mediator/

If you would like to edit the text, simply register with your Google Account (create one for free if you don't have one) and choose EDIT. You can also publish comments on the text. These comments will be visible below the Knol.

US: Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 Approved by House Subcommittee

July 25, http://www.insurereinsure.com/BlogHome.aspx?entry=835

On July 15, 2008, the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007, H.R. 3010 (the "Act"), which was originally introduced on July 12, 2007, was approved by the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. The Act would invalidate any predispute arbitration agreement for "an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute" or "a dispute arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights or to regulate contracts or transactions between parties of unequal bargaining power."

...

Post Hall Street, Federal Courts Differ On the Application of Manifest Disregard of the Law

July 22, http://www.insurereinsure.com/BlogHome.aspx?entry=825

Over the last few months, www.insurereinsure.com has reported on the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Hall Street Associates v. Mattel, Inc., 128 S.Ct. 1396 (2008) (click here to view previous post), which held that parties could not contract to expand the grounds for vacatur or modification of arbitration awards under the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), and the potential impact its holding might have on the doctrine of manifest disregard of the law (click here to view previous post). Two recent decisions originating from federal courts in Massachusetts shed some light on this issue. Compare ALS & Associates, Inc. v. AGM Marine Constructors, Inc., No. 06-10088 (D. Mass. June 2, 2008) with Kashner Davidson Securities Corp. v. Mscisz, No. 07-1231 (1st Cir. June 27, 2008).

...

Vanco proceeds with international arbitration in Black Sea PSA dispute with Ukraine

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~stege/blog/?p=115

Last week Vanco Prykerchenska Ltd. began international arbitration proceedings in Stockholm over a dispute with the Ukrainian government as the two sides continue to spar over an oil and gas project off the Crimean coast.

On May 19th, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers unilaterally withdrew from the landmark 30-year production sharing agreement (PSA) covering Black Sea hydrocarbon exploration and development that had been reached with Vanco in the fall of 2007. This followed an April 25th move by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to annul the special subsoil license that had been granted to Vanco stemming from the PSA.

...

EVENTS

Report: Dispute Resolution in China

On 18 April 2008 the SCC and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) held a successful conference in Stockholm on resolving Chinese business disputes. China's spectacular economic boom has generated a dramatic increase in disputes. The conference attracted legal practitioners from all over the world and the sessions dealt with topics, such as, inter alia; What options are available to investors, traders and bankers when involved in a China related dispute? Can foreigners win in Chinese courts? Is arbitration in China fair? Is mediation an effective alternative?

Also, the increasing number of disputes in the Asian region has affected the SCC caseload. Last year the SCC had 14 cases with Chinese parties and 9 cases with Singaporean parties. It appears that parties from Asia have confidence in referring their disputes to the SCC, being famous for its long-standing tradition in the resolution of East-West disputes.

Source: SCC Newsletter 2/2008

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

Jornada Internacional de Arbitraje, 22 & 23 September

http://www.derecho.uba.ar/institucional/deinteres/2008_jorn_inter_arbitraje.php

22 y 23 de septiembre de 2008 en el Aula Magna, Facultad de Derecho:

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.

MOVES

Charles Russell launches Geneva offering for international arbitration (Phillip Landolt)

July 17, http://www.cr-law.co.uk/news/viewarticle.asp?newsid=298

Leading UK firm, Charles Russell LLP, has appointed Phillip Landolt as a lateral hire in its Geneva office effective from 4 August 2008. Landolt, who joins from reputed Geneva firm Tavernier Tschanz, is a dual qualified litigation lawyer who, after having spent some six years working in Geneva, has established a leading reputation for handling international arbitrations, especially those based in Switzerland.

Charles Russell opened its office in Geneva in 2006 with the dual objectives of offering on the ground advice to its burgeoning international private client practice and providing greater access to its extensive portfolio of corporate services. Landolt's appointment now extends the Geneva offering to dispute resolution, and adds a second international arbitration service alongside Charles Russell's London-centred arbitration activities. Thus the firm can now provide a unique 'one-stop-shop' of English-law services from Geneva, and in particular expertise in and familiarity with Swiss-based arbitrations.

Landolt commented: 'Switzerland in general, and Geneva in particular, is a significant location for international arbitration from sports through to telecoms and competition arbitrations. Charles Russell has an enviable reputation across many of these specialist sectors and this, combined with my experience of arbitration in the Swiss market, offers a very attractive package of services to clients. We will be particularly well placed to serve clients with Swiss and other Continental arbitrations subject to English substantive law, those seeking English advocacy and case management for Swiss and Continental arbitrations, and those clients who want the option of instructing a top firm of English solicitors for Swiss law arbitrations.'

James Holder, Charles Russell Managing Partner, said: 'We are delighted that Phillip has decided to join us at this very exciting time in our international development. Our first two years in Geneva have been very successful and provide us with the solid platform we need to widen our offering to clients. We are confident that Phillip will play a critical role in Charles Russell's future success in Geneva.'

Books

Decisions of the Arbitral Panel for in Rem Restitution, Volume 1

Edited by Josef Aicher, Erich Kussbach and August Reinisch
http://www.hartpub.co.uk/books/details.asp?isbn=9781841138770
July 08, 500pp, Hbk 9781841138770, Price: £75 / €112.50
DISCOUNT RATE TO OGEMID MEMBERS: £60 / €90 (Contact us for details)

Hart Publishing is pleased to announce the publication of 'Decisions of the Arbitral Panel for In Rem Restitution' Edited by Josef Aicher, Erich Kussbach and August Reinisch. This is an historically important study which looks at compensation for property confiscation during the period of national socialism in Austria.

The series "Decisions of the Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution", published in two languages, documents a fundamental element of Austria's most recent compensatory measures in dealing with the consequences of the National Socialist era.

For property confiscated during the National Socialist era and now publicly owned, the possibility of restitution in rem, i.e. the actual return of the property was provided for in the Washington Settlement Agreement of 17 January 2001. The Arbitration Panel for In Rem Restitution, installed at the General Settlement Fund in Vienna, decides on the applications for restitution. For the most part, the applications concern real estate that was confiscated between 1938 and 1945, was publicly owned on the Agreement deadline (17 January 2001) and in many cases had already been the subject of restitution proceedings after 1945.

Since 2003, the Arbitration Panel has decided on a great number of applications, and has recommended the restitution of property to the legal successors of former owners in several cases. In the course of these decisions, the Arbitration Panel has developed a judicature, which exemplarily presents the consequences of National Socialism in Austria regarding the law of property. The decisions of the Arbitration Panel form a part of the current debate about property seizures during the National Socialist era and restitution practices after 1945. Volume 1 contains the decisions of the Arbitration Panel from 2003 and 2004, each in the German original and with the English translation.

Full University Professor Dr. Aicher is a Professor at the Institute for Corporate and Economic Law at the University of Vienna, Visiting Professor at the Danube-University Krems, corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and deputy chairman of the Austrian Takeover Commission.

Dr. Erich Kussbach, LL. M., is honorary Professor of Humanitarian International Law at the University of Linz, a former member of the International Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission, ambassador of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of St. John in Hungary, and a retired Austrian ambassador.

University Professor MMag. Dr. August Reinisch, LL. M., is head of the section for International Law and International Relations at the Department for European, International and Comparative Law at the University of Vienna and professorial lecturer at the Bologna Center/SAIS of Johns Hopkins University.