Rent-A-Center found that, under the FAA, a Court may only address challenges directed specifically against the arbitration provision, not against the contract as a whole. Generic challenges are to be resolved by the arbitrators. Respondent Jackson filed an employment-discrimination suit against petitioner Rent-A-Center, his former employer, in a Nevada Federal District Court. Rent-A-Center filed a […]
HULLEY ENTERPRISES LIMITED (CYPRUS) V. THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (PCA CASE NO. AA226) – FINAL AWARD 18 July 2014
The Yukos group of companies, whose controlling shareholders were OAO Yukos Oil Company, Hulley Enterprises Limited (Cyprus), Yukos Universal Limited (Isle of Man) and Veteran Petroleum Limited (Cyprus), was supposed to benefit from tax exemptions. However, in 2002, these exemptions were revoked at the Closed Administrative Territorial Units (“ZATOs”). Then, starting in 2003, Yukos suffered […]
VANNESSA VENTURES LTD. V. THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA (ICSID CASE NO ARB (AF)/04/6) – AWARD 16 January 2013
On 16 January 2013, an Arbitral Tribunal rendered an award dismissing all claims on the merits of the Canadian company Vanessa Ventures Ltd in relation to its investment in a mining project in Venezuela, under a bilateral investment treaty between Canada and Venezuela. At the beginning of the 1990’s, Placer Dome Inc (“PDI”) had contracted […]
BG GROUP PLC. V. REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA – CASE NO. U.S. 12-138 (2014) – U.S. SUPREME COURT
In this dispute, the Claimant was part of a consortium owning majority shares in MetroGas, for the distribution of natural gas in Buenos Aires. Before the 2001 financial crisis, Argentinean law provided that gas tariffs were calculated in US dollars for profitable returns. However, the crisis led to emergency measures, one of which implemented a […]
The Presumption of Separability in International Arbitration
The presumption of separability in international arbitration means that the validity of an international arbitration agreement is separate and analyzed independently from the rest of a contract. It may be the case that only the arbitration agreement itself is valid while the rest of the contract is not, or vice versa. This presumption is recognized […]