The Power of the Purse: Why Promoting Gender Diversity is Key to the Future of International Arbitration

By: Mala Stauder; Junior Staffer A lack of diversity among appointed arbitrators has been a longstanding presence in the international arbitration community.  Achieving gender diversity specifically proved to be a consistent challenge, yet its resolution remained a low priority for years. The international arbitration arena often wastes the most qualified talent when excluding women. In…

Shield against Accountability: How Russia Avoids Honoring Arbitration Awards While Being Tied Up with War and Sanctions

By: Cecilia Li; Junior Staffer In June 2015, Everest Estate LLC and several other Ukrainian companies (“Claimants”) commenced United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) arbitration proceedings with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) in The Hague against Russia pursuant to the 1998 Ukraine-Russia bilateral investment treaty (“Ukraine-Russia BIT”). The Claimants contended that Russia,…

Spain’s Renewable Energy Disputes: Renewable Energy Needs Reliable Arbitration

By: Aloke Prabhu; Junior Staffer Spain’s decade-long war with foreign investors over the changes to its renewable energy policy in 2010 continues as the country seeks to annul tens of millions in awarded damages.  The story of Spain’s disputes will likely discourage investors’ confidence in international investments in renewables for the foreseeable future.  These cases…

The Complex World of International Arbitration and Eventual Enforcement

Recently, in a decision issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union, in the case of Slovak Republic v. Achmea, intra-EU bilateral investment treaties’ (“BIT”) arbitration clauses were declared to be in violation of governing European Union (“EU”) law and therefore illegal. The court stated “that the arbitration clause in the BIT [between Slovakia and the…