Issue 43

Sam Thyne provides an overview of the new ICC Arbitration Rules, and covers many of the key changes which together aim to make ICC arbitration faster and therefore more cost-efficient.

Nicholas Gould, Alex Atherton and Jake Marouane examine the growing jurisdictional and enforcement challenges facing parties in disputes with Russian entities. Focusing on recent decisions from the Russian Supreme Court and the English courts, they consider the practical implications for dispute resolution and enforcement and highlight how parties can mitigate risks when contracting with parties based in the Russian Federation.

Mark Pantry explores FIDIC’s Gold Book and its distinctive approach to integrating design, construction, operation and maintenance within a single contractual framework. He examines how the Gold Book allocates long-term risk, the practical challenges of pricing and managing operational obligations over extended periods and why, despite its focus on whole-life asset performance, it has seen only limited adoption compared with the other standard FIDIC forms.

Sana Mahmud examines a UK Supreme Court decision confirming that states party to the ICSID Convention cannot rely on adjudicative immunity to resist the recognition of arbitral awards in the UK.

Jonathan Clarke and Jake Marouane consider a Singapore case highlighting the risks of third-party funding, where substantial funding costs were held to be irrecoverable despite the claimants’ success.

Jeremy Glover reviews a recent Singapore case which considers the consequences of an ad hoc DAB declining to hear disputes referred under a FIDIC contract. The case provides useful guidance on when parties may proceed directly to arbitration.