The Arbitration Station

The Arbitration Station Book Club is back! We have read The Unruly Notion of Abuse of Rights and we’re talking about that book together with none other than its author Jan Paulsson [TIME 0:14:45]. The second segment is some arbitration fundamenta: challenges of arbitrators [0:47:21], which is followed by a Happy Fun Time discussion on paralegals: how to be one, how to manage one and how to appreci...

Winter has come to the UK, but the Arbitration Station is full of hot takes. Saadia and Joel speak to University of Richmond law professor Chiara Giorgetti [TIME 07:13], who was heavily involved in the drafting of the Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement, issued by ICSID and UNCITRAL (which we first talked about on S04E15). The Draft Code has now received com...

Well rested from our holiday hiatus, we’re back to tackle some of the truly big issues. First out is investment treaty claims arising out of holocaust survivors’ seized property [TIME 09:03], followed by Rachael O’Grady talking about space arbitration [TIME 30:25]. After opening with the holocaust and space, we go small and end with a Happy Fun Time involving Saadia’s new favorite acronym: ESL, or...

Before taking some time off, we finish the season with a much-awaited interview with Kaj Hobér [TIME 14:40], conducted at the Swedish Law Day webinar. Then we sign off by following tradition and discussing holiday gifts, both related to arbitration and… less so [TIME 46:10]. Happy Holidays to all, and special thanks to our sponsor IAReporter. Among the potential gifts mentioned: JOELGirl, Woman, O...

Brian and Joel talk to David Kasdan, a very experienced court reporter with hundreds of arbitrations under his belt, about the crucial but sometimes overlooked role as transcriber in chief during an arbitration [TIME 11:31]. Saadia then takes us on a trip through the updated ICC and LCIA Rules [TIME 47:11], before we have a Happy Fun Time talking about boutique/spin-off firms - and this week's HFT...

If you want to work for Investment Arbitration Reporter, now is your chance. The leading publication is looking for contributors and you can apply here. We use this as a reason to bring publisher and funder Luke Peterson on the air to talk about IAReporter, its history, work and contribution to the field of investment arbitration.

The sound is a bit bad because we’re sitting so far apart (together with editor Jan). Brian has called up damages expert Brent Kaczmarek [TIME 08:25] to benefit from his experience from hundreds of arbitrations. Joel then discusses sovereign immunity from enforcement, and in particular enforcement against central bank assets [TIME 41:48]. During Happy Fun Time we talk about paperless arbitration,...

The fourth episode of the season is loaded with two interviews: Toby Landau QC talks about the fallacy of witness evidence in arbitration. Based on his 2010 Kaplan Lecture, he argues that the way we produce and examine witnesses has some inherent flaws [TIME 08:18]. We then interview academic and in-house counsel Cornel Marian about taxation in international (investment) arbitration, a topic on wh...

This week’s episode is focused on arbitration institutions, and more particularly on their function and liability. Under the firm guidance of Saadia, we discuss the liability of arbitration institutions [TIME 09:10], with some concrete examples of institutions being sued. Brian then talks to Eric Tuchmann , General Counsel of the American Arbitration Association [TIME 48:30] about the role of that...

The first interview of Season 5 is with Jeremy Sharpe (https://www.jeremyksharpe.com/), who talks to Joel about the investment law advisory center that is being discussed by UNCITRAL Working Group III [TIME 12:16]. Then Brian dives into an issue which is top of mind in 2020: do parties have a right to a physical hearing [TIME 39:14]. Happy Fun Time is a little gloomy, as Saadia talks about “doom s...

Something nice happening in 2020 - the Arbitration Station is back! Seated in London - responsibly spread out - we start off with the recent UK news that international law is not that important after all [TIME 14:20]. We then look back over the summer and discuss some recent developments in treaty-based renewable cases: is Romania the new Spain [TIME 28:42]? We also engage in perhaps the silliest...

With a decimated line-up of hosts, and a Corona-related delay in uploads, we close out the season on a strong note with Joel talking about the enforcement of awards that have been set aside [TIME 11:03] and Brian talking about the treaty to end all* treaties: the plurilateral EU treaty to terminate intra-EU investment BITs [TIME 29:08]. We close out the season with a discussion on domestic legal t...

We’re all in greater London but of course we’re still not in the same room. Video recording will have to do, as we discuss the recent Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in Investor-State Dispute Settlement, issued by ICSID and UNCITRAL [TIME 13:22], as well as the law governing the arbitration agreement, based on a  recent judgment from the Court of Appeal in London [TIME 39:58]. Happy Fun Tim...

We are still in isolation but at some point we have to stop naming the episodes after that fact. This week, we talk about when and why to bifurcate arbitrations [TIME 09:24], umbrella clauses [TIME 37:20] and about motivating your team and colleagues in a these complicated times [TIME 01:04:58].Stay safe and healthy, arbitration friends!

Still in isolation, we return to some of the things that are currently occupying the arbitration community: what are the effects of our collective quarantine, in particular on hearings? [TIME 07:07] The second segment deals with potential investment treaty claims based on Covid-related measures [TIME 40:52]. For Happy Fun Time, we talk about pay freezes, bonuses and salaries in the wake of a poten...

Recorded in isolation, we talk to each other as therapy. With all events and meetings cancelled or postponed, we try to simulate the ICC European Conference on International Arbitration by talking about two topics that would have been discussed on panels there (and might be this summer when it takes place): tariff wars and arbitration [TIME 11:20] and the European Green Deal (and the Stockholm Tre...

Sitting in the same room for once, we talk about transparency in investment arbitration (specifically the tribunal’s power to order it, as highlighted in the majority v. dissent in Rand Investments v. Serbia) [TIME 11:11]. Then, in these Covid times, we talk about how the current virus scare might lead to disputes under force majeure clauses in contracts [TIME 32:53]. Happy Fun Time is (once again...

This week we spend the most time on the epic battle of the seats currently playing out (again) - London v. Paris as the seat of arbitration, brought to the surface by Kabab-Ji S.A.L v. Kout Food Group in the UK Court of Appeal [TIME 13:23]. Then, for Happy Fun Time, Brian gives us the summary of his doctoral dissertation, which is focused on the profound issue of short commands: how to optimise yo...

Brian tells us about security for costs, a topic relevant for both commercial and investment arbitration [TIME 08:28]. Then follows an interview with Diego Gotis, whom Saadia spoke to in Vienna [TIME 34:14]. The last segment is always a Happy Fun one, this time about tone and culture in the field of arbitration - what we wished someone had told us earlier in our careers…[TIME: 1:08:28]. Also, watc...

Back from the holidays, we kick off the new decade with two separate discussions that involve timing: first, the temporal application of investment treaties [TIME 10:02] inspired by a recent arbitral award, secondly when and how can a state’s failure to respect obligations in a commercial arbitration award be the basis for an investment treaty claim [TIME 32:17]? Happy Fun Time then is about our (...

Happy holidays, arbitration nerds!  From the International Arbitration Center in London, Brian and Saadia call up Joel and it has to be said: Joel’s audio is below par. It’s a work in progress figuring out recording from a new place.  Luckily, Joel pre-recorded an interview with Kathleen Claussen about WTO dispute resolution and in particular the recent crisis in the Appellate Body [TIME 8:20]. Th...

The episode’s substantive segment is the ICSID Roster, and appointments in ICSID cases generally (inspired by a recent blog post about the nationality of arbitrators designated by states) - what is the ICSID Roster, how does one get on it and how does ICSID use it [TIME 12:18]? Then, Happy Fun Time is about law firm pitching/competing for business [TIME 41:57]. Yes, we’re working on a new intro to...

Spread over the world, we fight for the upper hand in our new co-host chemistry. Saadia has interviewed Jaroslav Kudrna [TIME 12:08] from the Czech Ministry of Finance, about the state’s experience as respondent in investment arbitrations. Brian then discusses denial of benefits in investment treaties [TIME 45:34], before we go HFT [TIME 1:06:22] and discuss a question sent in by a listener: what...

Saadia and Joel have been to Vienna for the UNCITRAL Working Group, and took the chance to talk to Julian Arato about shareholder claims in investment treaty arbitration [TIME 8:48]. Brian quizzes the others about double-hatters (Joel calls in without a microphone - sorry for sound quality), [TIME 32:58] while HFT is a nerd bonanza on fonts and formatting in legal writing [TIME 1:00:33].

There are three of us! Saadia Bhatty is the new co-host and enters the podcast with full force. This historic episode begins with a discussion about the largest arbitral awards in history [TIME: 11:11], followed by Saadia’s premier segment: institutional v. ad hoc arbitration [TIME 34:05]. For Happy Fun Time, we use World Mental Health Day as a reason to discuss lawyers’ mental health with Elizabe...