The establishment of a School of International Arbitration was a sufficiently important occurrence to have brought to London, for its inaugural conference, most of the world's leading experts on international arbitration. The three-day Symposium on March 25-27, 1985 sought to identify and consider the It was not the aim contemporary problems affecting international arbitration. of the Symposium to develop, propose or agree solutions to these problems, but rather to discuss the issues and alternative solutions. The success of the School will be measured in the future by its contribution, through research and teaching, to the development of solutions to the difficulties and uncertainties which reduce the effectiveness of international arbitration agreements and awards and the conduct of international arbitral proceedings. This book reproduces the papers presented at the Symposium (amended and varied by several contributors). It is not considered appropriate here to comment on or analyse paper by paper the ideas presented or discussions which ensued. However, it would be appropriate to make reference to specific developments in the short period since the Symposium directly relevant to the papers reproduced and the discussions which ensued. The pertinence of the subject-matter selected becomes clear from these subsequent developments.

The doctrine of state immunity bars a national court from adjudicating or enforcing claims against foreign states. This doctrine, the foundation for high-profile national and international decisions such as those in the Pinochet case and the Arrest Warrant cases, has always been controversial. The reasons for the controversy are many and varied. Some argue that state immunity paves the way for state violations of human rights. Others argue that the customary basis for the doctrine is not a sufficient basis for regulation and that codification is the way forward. Furthermore, it can be argued that even when judgments are made in national courts against other states, the doctrine makes enforcement of these decisions impossible. This fully restructured new edition provides a detailed analysis of these issues in a more clear and accessible manner. It provides a nuanced assessment of the development of the doctrine of state immunity, including a general comprehensive overview of the plea of immunity of a foreign state, its characteristics, and its operation as a bar to proceedings in national courts of another state. It includes a coherent history and justification of the plea of state immunity, demonstrating its development from the absolute to the restrictive phase, arguing that state immunity can now be seen to be developing into a third phase which uses immunity allocate adjudicative and enforcement jurisdictions between the foreign and the territorial states. The United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of states and their Property is thoroughly assessed. Through a detailed examination of the sources of law and of English and US case law, and a comparative analysis of other types of immunity, the authors explore both the law as it stands, and what it could and should be in years to come.

States get involved in international affairs either directly or through their instrumentalities. The activities of these instrumentalities raise many issues, two of which have given rise to significant recent developments both in arbitral and domestic case law. The first is whether and under what conditions a State may be held liable for the conduct of such instrumentalities on the basis of an investment treaty. This issue will be the subject of a systematic survey of ICSID and ICC case law and that of other arbitral tribunals so as to identify the circumstances in which such liability may arise. The second issue, which is addressed by State courts, is whether and under what conditions State instrumentalities that have a separate and autonomous legal personality may be held liable for the pecuniary obligations of the State. A comparative law study focusing in particular on solutions found in French, English and U.S. law will provide answers to the question as to whether an award holding a State liable may be enforced against the assets of instrumentalities of that State, where such instrumentalities are prima facie separate juridical persons.

Worldwide interest in the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards has never been higher, and the New York Convention of 1958, currently adhered to by 159 States including the major trading nations, remains the most successful treaty in this area of commercial law. This incomparable book, marking the Convention’s 60th anniversary, provides a fully updated analysis of the Convention’s application from international, comparative, and national perspectives. Drawing on a global conference held in Seville in April 2018 that was actively supported by UNCITRAL, the book’s 27 chapters, by highly qualified international practitioners and academics from different jurisdictions, address the subject with critical eyes, well aware of current developments and future challenges in the field of arbitration. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: Multi-tiered dispute resolution clauses. Applicability of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts. Complexities of enforcing orders determined by software. Enforcement of annulled awards. European Union law and the New York Convention. Enforcing awards against States and State entities. Sovereign immunity as a ground to refuse compliance with investor-State awards; Enforcement against non-signatories. Public policy exception. Arbitrating and enforcing foreign awards in specific countries and regions, including China, sub-Saharan Africa, and the ASEAN countries. Ample reference is made throughout to leading cases and practice. Familiarity with the intricacies of the New York Convention, as the most universally acknowledged framework in which cross-border economic exchanges can flourish, is essential for judges, practitioners, legal staff, business people, and scholars working with or applying international commercial arbitration anywhere in the world. This book’s combination of highly thought-provoking topics and the depth with which they are addressed will prove invaluable to all interested parties

Few topics of international law speak to the imagination as much as international immunities. Questions pertaining to immunity from jurisdiction or execution under international law surface on a frequent basis before national courts, including at the highest levels of the judicial branch and before international courts or tribunals. Nevertheless, international immunity law is and remains a challenging field for practitioners and scholars alike. Challenges stem in part from the uncertainty pertaining to the customary content of some immunity regimes said to be in a 'state of flux', the divergent – and at times directly conflicting - approaches to immunity in different national and international jurisdictions, or the increasing intolerance towards impunity that has accompanied the advance of international criminal law and human rights law. Composed of thirty-four expertly written contributions, the present volume uniquely provides a comprehensive tour d'horizon of international immunity law, traversing a wealth of national and international practice.

In State Immunity and Arbitration the author explores the limits of the concept of State Immunity as it relates to both jurisdiction and execution against state property in arbitration cases. The current scope of state immunity from jurisdiction is examined with reference to legislative and jurisprudential developments in the US and UK where the author finds evidence of a definite shift away from the traditional restrictive theory of state immunity. A similar survey of state practice relating to waiver, both express and implied, of immunity from jurisdiction and the relevant rules of arbitration institutions such as the ICC also illustrate a trend towards shrinking immunity.

Providing article-by-article commentary on this crucial convention and a number of cross-cutting analytical chapters, this book will be highly useful for anyone working in general international law and state responsibility. Each article's commentary draws on its drafting history, state practice, and relevant national and international case law.