Sovereign Immunity And The Execution Of Arbitral Awards Against Sovereign States

The past decade has seen a veritable explosion of investment treaty and other arbitration claims brought against sovereigns. Many of those cases have been filed before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Claims (ICSID), which has its own self-contained rules for enforcement. Given this significant increase in sovereign cases and the issues attendant to sovereign immunity, this treatise is timely in addressing the various issues that arise in enforcing arbitral awards against sovereigns. One of the first questions posed to their counsel by clients considering the initiation of an arbitration proceeding against a sovereign state is whether and how the resulting award can be enforced. The origin of the client’s question is usually based in some knowledge that a state possesses sovereign immunity, along with an uncertain concern about the exceptions to such immunity and the difficulties of enforcement against a sovereign’s assets. This uncertainty is understandable, especially in light of the sometimes confusing and even contradictory court decisions in certain jurisdictions. It is these inquiries in their broadest application that form the subject of this treatise. With contributions by eminent and experienced practitioners of the multiple issues that have arisen in various jurisdictions and the key cases that have created the law of enforcement of obligations against sovereigns, this book will provide access to valuable information, add to the transparency of this subject and further spur the consistent development of this area of law. This book is divided into three parts. The first part is general in nature and includes chapters encompassing the subjects of sovereign immunity in general (including both immunity from jurisdiction and immunity from enforcement), treaty obligations to honor awards, diplomatic protection by a claimant’s government to obtain payment of awards, and conciliation and settlement. The second part of the book deals with the means of enforcing awards. Part three of this treatise addresses the enforcement issues that arise in specific jurisdictions in which enforcement against sovereign assets is often sought - in particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, and South America.

In international commercial arbitration, parties that contract with states and state agencies seek to arbitrate disputes, but an increasing problem is the attempt by these state parties to raise the defence of sovereign immunity to challenge the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal or to avoid the enforcement of an arbitral award. It is discouraging in handling disputes with these sovereign entities which serve as major concern particularly with the growing prospect of sovereign defaults leading to cross-border disputes.The article reviewed the judicial decision in Trendtex v. Bank of Nigeria which is critical to the sovereign immunity that spreads across the globe. Award being final and binding as agreed in the parties' agreement should always be honoured. The article discovered that many states always resulted to the sovereign immunity doctrine in order to prevent the enforcement of arbitral awards. This article found that if this continues it may wreck and discourage the cooperation between the investors and the state agencies because investors prefer enforceable arbitration to litigation. The article concluded that by the practice of arbitration, it is honourable for states to allow enforcement of arbitral awards against their states or state agencies for the upliftment of global arbitration. The article recommended that states that have not ratified the New York Convention should do so and also the NYC should be amended to provide that any state party to the NYC has automatically waived the right to claim sovereign immunity when the issue of enforcement of award comes up.

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.

This is a practice-oriented guide, including text, commentary, tables and index, for anyone dealing with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Merely obtaining a favorable arbitral award or judgment at the end of a dispute holds little value unless the prevailing party is able to enforce it. This book, more thoroughly than any other source, shows practitioners how to navigate the relevant laws in New York—a leading global financial center known for its pro-enforcement policies and the powerful discovery tools it makes available to creditors. No other resource explores the current state of the law in New York as comprehensively as this book. Beyond its sheer practical significance given the likelihood of debtors having assets in (or routing U.S. dollar transactions through) New York, this book provides creditors and their counsel with the critical information they need to define their global enforcement strategy and facilitate their enforcement efforts not only in New York but potentially worldwide. Among the issues and topics that the book tackles are the following: • review of the fundamentals of U.S. practice and procedure for non–New York practitioners; • easy to understand, jargon-free explanation of the often daunting state and federal procedures for enforcement; • up-to-date, clear presentation of the relevant case law, including key state and federal decisions; • explanation of how state and federal laws intersect with international law; • review of significant recent developments impacting a creditor's ability to reach foreign defendants and their assets outside the U.S. in post-judgment execution proceedings; and • comprehensive advice on the practicalities of executing a judgment. Given the critical role New York plays in a host of cross-border transactions and its status as a hub for worldwide judgment and award enforcement, the demand to better understand the laws and judicial system within the state has never been higher. This comprehensive yet practical guide to navigating award and judgment enforcement in New York provides the understanding both the basics and the nuances in this area that is critical for any domestic or international practitioner when advising a client as to the likelihood of collection in or through New York.

The law of immunity of states, of international organisations, and of public officials is one of the most important and most controversial topics of international law. The book consists of five parts: ‘State Immunity – National Practice’; State Immunity before the ICJ – The case Germany v Italy; ‘Commercial Activities and State Immunity’; ‘Immunity and Impunity’; and ‘Immunities of International Organisations’. Although immunities are in principle firmly anchored in international law, their precise legal implications are often unclear. The book takes up a number of new trends and challenges in this field and assesses them within the framework of global constitutionalism and multilevel governance. Contains chapters in both English and French.