The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“Singapore Convention (on Mediation)”) came into force on 12 September 2020. It creates a harmonized framework for cost-effective and prompt enforcement of international mediated settlement agreements, aiming to render mediation more efficient and attractive to commercial parties globally, as an alternative to international arbitration […]
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards against State Assets: Sovereign Immunity in the United States
The main issue related to enforcement of an arbitral award against a State in the United States is the State’s sovereign immunity. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”), foreign sovereigns enjoy immunity from jurisdiction, a presumptive immunity from suit in U.S. federal and state courts, and immunity from execution, whereby their property is immune […]
Intra-EU Arbitrations and the Enforcement of ICSID Awards in the United States: the Impact of Achmea
The ICSID Convention requires signatories to treat arbitral awards rendered according to the ICSID framework as if they were a final judgment of a court in that State.[1] To challenge an award, the claimant shall seek review within the ICSID arbitral regime, rather than before State courts.[2] To implement the Convention, the U.S. Congress in […]
Intra-EU Investment Arbitration: Impact of EU Member States’ Declarations in the Wake of Achmea
In Achmea,[1] the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to assess the compatibility of the dispute resolution clause contained in the Netherlands-Slovak Republic BIT with EU law. In March 2018, the CJEU held that the clause was incompatible based on the threat posed to the constitutional structure and autonomy of the […]
UNCITRAL Drafts for a Convention on the Enforcement of Mediation Settlement Agreements and for a Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL”) Working Group II approved final drafts for a Convention on the Enforcement of Mediation Settlement Agreements (hereinafter “the draft Convention”) and for a Model Law on International Commercial Mediation and International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (hereinafter “the Mediation Model Law”). While these instruments need to […]