Insights

The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) has published the second edition of its arbitration rules, which came into effect on May 1, 2023 and applies to all arbitrations commenced on or after that date. As compared to the 2018 rules, these amendments are aimed at making the SCCA more attractive to a variety of business sectors. The new rules are the fruit of two years of consultation with industry experts, all in an effort to meet the highest standards in international arbitration. Some of the noteworthy amendments include the establishment of the SCCA Court, the removal of references to Sharia law, and new regulations regarding consolidation, cybersecurity, joinder, and emergency protective measures.

Can a technology company be found liable for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism based on a terrorist organization’s use of the company’s general online platform? In Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google, the Supreme Court answered: generally, no.

Can a party in an international arbitration compel a person in the United States to provide testimony or produce documents? For decades, the answer to this question has been “maybe, depending on where the person is located.” Today, the Supreme Court definitively and unanimously answered this question, and the answer may leave some pleased and others disappointed.

According to recent reports, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has directly requested that the United States designate Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (“SST”), an action that the United States has been considering for some time. The designation would have far-reaching implications and would automatically trigger some of the most aggressive unilateral sanctions in the United States’ arsenal, including restrictions on financial transactions, defense exports and sales, and foreign aid. These would further ramp up pressure from even the existing slew of sanctions imposed on Russia and its oligarchs.

On March 21, 2022, Member States of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) approved amendments to ICSID’s Regulations and Rules (the “Rules”). These amendments are the culmination of five years of consultation with States, legal specialists, and business representatives, and follow the publication of six Working Papers. The 2022 Rules are intended to come into effect on July 1, 2022.

With the geopolitical and economic crisis in Russia and Ukraine growing rapidly from recent events, international commercial operations in the region will be severely impacted in some manner, and many such impacts will result in disputes.  The events surrounding the peso crisis in Argentina in early 2000s, as well as those in Venezuela from the actions of Hugo Chavez, and others arising out of the Arab spring, all resulted in dozens of international disputes. We may see the same from current events, and there will be dispute options available to numerous companies with operations in either country who are experiencing severe disruptions of operations, loss of profit, or destruction of property, including, potentially: investor-State arbitration, domestic litigation, or claims tribunal recovery.

The highly anticipated 2022 revised rules of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”) were approved by the DIAC’s Board of Directors on February 25, 2022. The revised rules will come into effect starting March 21, 2022 and will govern all new requests for arbitration that are submitted on or after that date.

Dubai’s government recently made significant changes to its arbitral framework as part of its effort to strengthen the position of the Emirate as a dominant center for international dispute resolution in the region. Decree No. 34 of 2021 (the “Decree”), issued by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on September 14, 2021 and effective as of September 20, 2021, has fundamentally altered the existing arbitration framework in Dubai, and has the potential to have significant impacts for parties whose arbitration agreements name the now-abolished institutions.

For over 18 months, COVID-19 has relentlessly impacted businesses and commercial relationships in Latin America. In an effort to prevent the virus’s spread, governments across the region implemented lockdowns, gradual phased re-openings, and several other measures. With the recent spread of the Delta variant and vaccination rates remaining low compared to the United States, Canada and much of Europe, the region is expected to continue to experience outbreaks, and governments may be forced to impose further COVID-related restrictions.

The highly anticipated Supreme Court case Servotronics v. Rolls-Royce PLC and Boeing was expected to finally resolve the Circuit split regarding whether U.S. courts may order and compel discovery to aid in international commercial arbitrations under 28 U.S.C. § 1782. In a disappointment to practitioners and courts alike, the petitioner in Servotronics stipulated to the dismissal of its petition ahead of scheduled oral arguments, leaving the issue unresolved and forcing parties to continue navigating disparate jurisdictions. Fortunately, it appears that the Supreme Court will not lack new opportunities to provide clarity, as parties race to file similar petitions on the issue.

The new, revised 2021 ICC Rules reflect a shift toward greater modernization, efficiency, integrity, and enforceability. The changes, which apply to all cases registered with the ICC on or after January 1, 2021, are partially influenced by the impact of COVID-19 and the necessary technological adaptations that the Court, like parties and their counsel, have been forced to undergo. This shift is now codified in the revised Article 26(1), which empowers a tribunal to decide whether a hearing should be conducted in person, or remotely by videoconference or telephone, and in the revised Article 3(1), which removes the requirement of paper filing and replaces it with the presumption of electronic transmission. Other notable changes to the ICC Rules include: