There were many topics that captured the international arbitration community’s interest in 2023.
For example, the shift of production and manufacturing markets in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic – known as “nearshoring” – and related disputes dominated discussions.The viability of intra-EU investor-state arbitration also proved to be a hot topic for debate, particularly in light of states’ continued exodus from the Energy Charter Treaty and a recent decision from Germany’s Federal Court of Justice finding that parties could request a German court to declare an intra-EU ICSID arbitration incompatible with EU law before proceedings even commenced. We expect that 2024 similarly will herald a number of interesting developments in international arbitration.
This articles summarizes what are likely to be key trends and topics in international arbitration in 2024, including: (1) an influx of new arbitrations in the energy industry, including in the evolving LNG, lithium, and hydrogen sectors; (2) a renewed focus on arbitrator disclosures, which has resulted in disqualification attempts and challenges to awards as a result of alleged arbitrator bias; (3) different jurisdictions’ varying approaches with respect to allegations of corruption in post-award enforcement challenges; (4) new interest in the use of summary disposition procedures and bifurcation measures; and (5) upcoming reforms to national arbitration laws in important arbitration jurisdictions.
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