This year’s winter, which seems to be without end in Poland, inevitably brings tropical connotations to mind. There are a lucky few who can fly away on such snowy days to distant and agreeable regions, for example the coast of the Indian Ocean. Others are left with nothing but their imagination. Imagining for example the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Arbitration
Subscribe to Arbitration RSS FeedBIVAK for anyone interested in BIT arbitration
Posted in Investment ArbitrationSome time ago, a decision of October 9, 2012, regarding Bureau Veritas, Inspection, Valuation, Assessment and Control (BIVAC) versus Uruguay (ICSID Case No ARB/07/09) has become public. I think this is compulsory reading for anybody dealing with investment arbitration. This is the second decision regarding jurisdiction in this matter, which became a basis for the… Continue Reading
New replaces new
Posted in ArbitrationThe Rzeczpospolita newspaper reprinted several days ago comments of the Wall Street Journal warning Europe that it needs a “bankruptcy Union”. However, this is not a malicious comment on the financial crisis or an allusion to the situation in the Eurozone, but a view that the efficiency of bankruptcy procedures has material economic meaning. These… Continue Reading
Mediation in BIT cases? New IBA rules
Posted in Investment ArbitrationThe number of investment cases has been rapidly growing since late 1990s. Whilst in 1997 there were only 19 cases brought by foreign investors against states, by 2007 there were already 250 cases and at the end of 2011 – as many as 450.
My red Ferrari
Posted in ArbitrationI have heard lately from a few people whose opinions I value, negative comments about arbitration. It takes too long, the procedure is vague and unpredictable and the outcome was unsatisfactory. If in the football the saying of the football coach Kazimierz Górski that ”the ball is round and there are two goals” had such career I think that… Continue Reading
The world map of investment arbitration in ICSID statistics
Posted in Arbitration, Investment ArbitrationThe number of new cases registered in the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes is at the highest level in 40 years. The protracted international financial crisis, controversial political and economic decisions of some governments, extensive consequences of the Arab Spring, the risk that Greece and some other states may go “bankrupt” and generally… Continue Reading
Time is more valuable than money
Posted in ArbitrationA few weeks ago – in the midst of the UEFA EURO 2012 Championship and with the Olympic Games almost upon us – I posted a blog entry on the fastest among all fast-track arbitrations. Today I’m staying on the same track to share again a few thoughts on the timing of arbitration – from… Continue Reading
A Slovak case. Lost in transition.
Posted in Investment ArbitrationA few weeks ago, the award in Oostergetel v. Slovakia case was published. The dispute arose from the privatization of a Slovak plant in the early 1990s. The company was indebted, yet it had real operations, a long tradition and development potential. The company went down just a few years after its acquisition by… Continue Reading
“Fan zone”: ADR in sports matters
Posted in Arbitration, International DisputesEach UEFA EURO 2012 match attracts a larger audience than the American Superbowl. This is a great event not only for Poland and Ukraine hosting such a large sports event for the first time, but also for all football fans worldwide.
The ICC
Posted in ArbitrationI was invited to join the board of the Polish National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (International Chamber of Commerce – ICC). Bravo! I will add it to my CV – it will fit nicely with the rest of the information there. Perhaps some prospective client will take notice? You never know! Certainly… Continue Reading
FIDIC CEE Users’ Conference And Bad Wolf
Posted in Commercial ArbitrationOn April 26-27, a regional FIDIC Users conference was held in Warsaw under the patronage of K&L Gates. I do not feel entitled to judge whether it was successful or not, but the participants turned up in large numbers. I was especially pleased with the numerous representations from our region, i.e. Central and Eastern Europe…. Continue Reading
Court buffet
Posted in Arbitration, LitigationIt was not a long time ago, a bit more than 20 years ago, when the Warsaw courts were all in one place – in a monumental building at 127 Leszno Street (called Świerczewskiego then). The labor courts were located in the buildings of the mortgage court. There were 500 advocates in Warsaw and only… Continue Reading
Can one write a blog about civil procedure?
Posted in ArbitrationThe start of any new activity in life brings uncertainty. The same applies to a blog devoted to dispute resolution. To get someone interested in the Polish civil procedure or arbitration seems more difficult than writing a court report or even a script of a serial movie in which the audience should experience the emotions… Continue Reading
Resolving and avoiding construction disputes – ‘constructively’
Posted in Arbitration, Investment ArbitrationI am one of tens or perhaps even hundreds of thousands Poles whose professional lives are strictly related to the fact that Poland has earned the fame of being the largest “construction site in Europe”. As an attorney it is my bread and butter to work with construction firms as their legal advisor and counsel…. Continue Reading