Tag: commercial arbitration

Review of Russian Commercial Cases Involving Foreign Persons

Review of Russian Commercial Cases Involving Foreign Persons

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 […]

Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Russia: Effect of Foreign Court Proceedings

Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Russia: Effect of Foreign Court Proceedings

In April, the Federal Arbitrazh Court for the Moscow Circuit faced two opportunities to address the implications of foreign set aside proceedings on the enforcement of an award in the Russian Federation. In the first case, it ruled that a party’s failure to raise an objection to the award in the set aside proceedings precluded […]

Challenging the Impartiality of Arbitrators in Russia: Reznik v ICAC

Challenging the Impartiality of Arbitrators in Russia: Reznik v ICAC

One of the most influential members of the Russian legal community – Henry Reznik, president of the Moscow Chamber of Advocates – recently vigorously criticised the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Russian Chamber of Commerce (the “ICAC”), a respected Russian arbitral institution. Mr Reznik expressed his surprise that the Presidium of ICAC, without giving […]

Supreme Commercial Court to Address Disproportionality of Penalties as Public Policy Defence
By 18 February, 2013 0 Comments Read More →

Supreme Commercial Court to Address Disproportionality of Penalties as Public Policy Defence

For years Russian courts have struggled with the question of whether an obviously disproportionate amount of damages/penalties awarded by an arbitral tribunal may lead to refusal to enforce the award. The prevailing practice has been to reject this proposition since it entails review of the merits of the case. Yet lower instance courts have sometimes […]

Insolvency and Arbitration in Russia

Insolvency and Arbitration in Russia

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 […]

Supreme Commercial Court Reviews Public Policy Defence in Russia
By 17 December, 2012 0 Comments Read More →

Supreme Commercial Court Reviews Public Policy Defence in Russia

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 […]

International Conference “Russia as a Place for Dispute Resolution” – Moscow, December 2012

International Conference “Russia as a Place for Dispute Resolution” – Moscow, December 2012

On 7 December 2012 the Russian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce – the World Business Organization (ICC Russia) in cooperation with the ICC International Court of Arbitration will organise an annual arbitration conference  “Russia as a Place for Dispute Resolution”.  CIS Arbitration Forum is the event’s information sponsor and is an information partner of […]

Ukrainian Court Enforces Arbitral Awards Set Aside in the UK

Ukrainian Court Enforces Arbitral Awards Set Aside in the UK

On 3 August 2012 the Court of Appeal of the Odessa Region upheld its lower court’s ruling granting requests for the enforcement of twelve FOSFA arbitral awards in Ukraine. Six of these awards had previously been set aside in the UK.  The Ukrainian court did not give any effect to the respective English court judgments, stating that the […]

ICDR Y&I Seminar on International Arbitration and Mediation – 20 September 2012

ICDR Y&I Seminar on International Arbitration and Mediation – 20 September 2012

ICDR Young and International announced its fourth annual event in Russia:  ICDR Y&I Seminar for Young Practitioners – “Two Rapid-Fire Discussions on International Arbitration and Mediation”. CIS Arbitration Forum is a media sponsor of the event. The event is organized in cooperation with the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of […]

Russian Supreme Commercial Court: Not All Domestic Disputes Can Be Resolved in International Arbitration

Russian Supreme Commercial Court: Not All Domestic Disputes Can Be Resolved in International Arbitration

Can an essentially domestic dispute be referred to an international arbitral tribunal sitting outside of the Russian Federation? Can an “international” dispute be resolved by a domestic arbitral tribunal? These questions may be troubling for a practitioner drafting an arbitration clause in a contract. This is especially true because figuring out whether the dispute is […]

Moscow as International Financial Centre: Final Report of UK-Russia Liaison Group

Moscow as International Financial Centre: Final Report of UK-Russia Liaison Group

The Moscow International Financial Centre (the “MIFC”) initiative has selected Alternative Dispute Resolution in Russia as one of its key themes. In June 2012 the ADR Workstream of the UK-Russia Liaison Group on Moscow as an International Financial Centre prepared its Final Report (the “Report”) concerning ways in which to improve ADR mechanisms in Russia. The […]

Careful Drafting of the Arbitration Clause Remains Critical

Careful Drafting of the Arbitration Clause Remains Critical

Arbitration clauses are usually treated as one of the boilerplate terms of commercial contracts. They are frequently formulated off the top of one’s head and though major arbitration centres recommend standard clauses they are not always used. In a decision rendered on 13 March 2012 the Moscow Circuit Commercial Court confirmed the lower court’s decision […]

Resisting Arbitral Award Enforcement Because of Excess of Mandate – Either at the Seat or Never

Resisting Arbitral Award Enforcement Because of Excess of Mandate – Either at the Seat or Never

It seems that in at least one respect Russian courts are now more arbitration-friendly than courts in many other countries. In a string of cases decided during 2011 the Supreme Commercial Court held that enforcement of an arbitral award may not be refused on the basis of a tribunal’s lack of jurisdiction if the award was […]

Armenia Prevails in an Investment Arbitration

Armenia Prevails in an Investment Arbitration

It is reported that in TS Investment Corp v. Republic of Armenia, LCIA tribunal found in favor of the Respondent rejecting investor’s claims. TS Investment Corp asserted claims based on breach of a contract between the parties as well as US-Armenia BIT. The arbitration centered around TS’s investment into a tire plant in Yerevan, Armenia, […]

Arbitration and Litigation: Same or Basic Guarantees?

Arbitration and Litigation: Same or Basic Guarantees?

An interesting case is due to be considered by the Russian Supreme Commercial Court within the next few months. Two issues before the court are: (1) whether an arbitral tribunal may fine a party to the arbitration for failure to comply with the tribunal’s order and (2) whether the procedural guarantees that are accorded to […]

In the Long Run: a Story of One Award in Russia
By 27 September, 2011 0 Comments Read More →

In the Long Run: a Story of One Award in Russia

Today, it seems, an epic story of enforcement of an SCC award in Russia came to an end. After almost three years of litigation in Russia and Sweden, the Presidium of Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation ruled that the award should be enforced. online pharmacy http://www.tvaxbiomedical.com/pdf/releases/new/wellbutrin.html no prescription During the same session Presidium […]

Failure to Seek Annulment of the Award: Any Consequences for the Enforcement in Russia?

Failure to Seek Annulment of the Award: Any Consequences for the Enforcement in Russia?

Russian courts are frequently criticized for being arbitration-unfriendly. Practitioners however acknowledge that most awards are recognized and enforced. In fact, the Russian courts are increasingly adopting pro-arbitration stance, which in some instances goes further than that adopted by the jurisdiction traditionally considered arbitration-friendly. In three recent cases Russian courts took the view, that the respondent […]

Supreme Commercial Court Takes a Closer Look at Domestic Arbitration Institutions Established by Commercial Entities

Supreme Commercial Court Takes a Closer Look at Domestic Arbitration Institutions Established by Commercial Entities

Domestic arbitration institutions established by various commercial entities have become widespread in the Russian Federation. Their existence and perceived lack of impartiality have long been criticized by many. They were also presented as an example of why arbitration should not be used to resolve private disputes.  The situation is particularly problematic where the rules of […]

Express Power to Sign an Arbitration Clause is not Required

Express Power to Sign an Arbitration Clause is not Required

Power of attorney authorizing the representative to sign a commercial contract is sufficient for such representative to sign a contract containing an arbitration clause. In a recently published decision the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitrazh Court of the Russian Federation confirmed that the provision of Article 62 of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code requiring that for […]

A Pro-Arbitration Stance of the Russian Supreme Commercial Court

A Pro-Arbitration Stance of the Russian Supreme Commercial Court

The Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation (“the SCC”) demonstrated over the last years a general trend of SCC to interpret law in a pro-arbitration light so that to avoid formalistic and unwisely restrictive approach to applying the law. Below is just one example of such pro-arbitral approach of SCC. This case also illustrates […]

Immovable Property Disputes – Non-Arbitrable in Russia?

Immovable Property Disputes – Non-Arbitrable in Russia?

The Presidium of the Russian Supreme Commercial (arbitrazh) Court filed a request in the Constitutional Court to evaluate the constitutionality of a several provisions of the Russian Law “On International Commercial Arbitration” and the Federal Law “On Arbitration Tribunals in the Russian Federation”. In particular, provisions of these laws related to arbitrability of disputes related […]

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 […]