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The São Paulo Appellate Court (TJSP) annulled the CAM B3 President’s decision appointing all arbitrators in the Vale shareholders’ arbitration, intervening before the tribunal was constituted. Vale argued a fundamental right to choose an arbitrator, while the court held the action admissible, claiming no threat to the Kompetenz‑Kompetenz principle. The ruling contradicts Brazil’s arbitration law, which reserves competence disputes for the arbitral tribunal itself. Analysts view the decision as an outlier that does not overturn the established pro‑arbitration jurisprudence of the Superior Court of Justice.
The bi‑annual journal b‑Arbitra’s 2025‑2 edition blends doctrinal analysis with recent Belgian case law, highlighting AI regulation, arbitration agreement validity, and estoppel applications. Ole Jensen examines AI’s emerging regulatory framework, while Vermeiren, Tulkens and Hoc dissect arbitration clause issues under...
On 14 January 2026 the French Senate passed a Bill creating a statutory confidentiality regime for in‑house legal advice. The protection applies only to communications drafted by qualified corporate counsel, purely legal in nature, addressed to management and marked as confidential, while...
Romero v. Ecuador, an ad hoc UNCITRAL arbitration, highlighted divergent approaches to treaty silence on dual nationals. The majority tribunal invoked the dominant and effective nationality doctrine to deny jurisdiction, while a dissenting arbitrator argued that, absent explicit treaty language, dual...
On 1 August 2025 Bulgaria renamed its International Commercial Arbitration Act to the Arbitration Act and introduced sweeping reforms. A new online Registry of Arbitrations, run by the Ministry of Justice, now requires every arbitration seated in Bulgaria to be registered with...
Georgia’s appellate courts have shifted their stance on Dispute Adjudication Boards (DABs). A 2021 decision invalidated multi‑tier dispute clauses that required a DAB before arbitration, deeming them void under Georgian law. In contrast, a 2025 ruling recognized DABs as legitimate...
Investment arbitration has produced both multi‑billion mega‑awards and a growing number of zero‑damages rulings. Recent tribunals in Biwater Gauff v. Tanzania, Infinito Gold v. Costa Rica and Pawlowski v. Czech Republic refused compensation because claimants could not establish a causal...
The 2025 edition of Selma Lemes’s arbitration report shows Brazil’s arbitral market rebounding, with new cases rising 30% to 376 annually and the average dispute value jumping 122% to BRL 202 million in 2024. International filings also climbed to 64, the highest...
On 17 October 2025 the tribunal issued its award in Riverside Coffee v. Nicaragua, finding that Nicaragua’s invocation of the essential security interests clause in Article 21.2(b) of DR‑CAFTA constituted a broad carve‑out from the treaty’s obligations. The tribunal held the clause is...
Malaysia’s Arbitration (Amendment) Act 2024 took effect on 1 January 2026, formally legalising third‑party funding in arbitration. The law carves out funding from the historic champerty doctrine and imposes a light‑touch disclosure regime, requiring funded parties to reveal the existence of a funder...
In 2025 U.S. courts dismissed two high‑profile enforcement actions against African sovereigns, reinforcing the narrow scope of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The D.C. District Court ruled in Global Voice Group SA v. Republic of Guinea that Guinea was...
2025 saw a stark divergence between EU and non‑EU jurisdictions on intra‑EU investment arbitration. The German Constitutional Court and the Amsterdam Court of Appeal effectively nullified arbitration clauses and ordered termination of pending arbitrations, while the Swedish Supreme Court required...
The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) clarified that § 1059(4) ZPO permits remittal to the original arbitral tribunal unless a serious, uncurable procedural defect exists. The court rejected a blanket rule that any breach of the right to be heard bars...
In 2025 the UNCITRAL Working Group III intensified its ISDS reform agenda, holding three formal sessions, an inter‑sessional meeting, and two Advisory Centre operationalisation meetings. The group reviewed draft procedural and cross‑cutting provisions aimed at improving transparency, cost‑effectiveness and early dismissal...
The Paris Court of Appeal refused to set aside a 2022 ICC arbitral award that ordered the Kish Free Zone Organization (KFZO) to pay €39.5 million to Flower of the East Kish Development Company and its shareholder. KFZO’s challenges – alleging...
