Welcome from the Editors-in-Chief

Samaa Haridi and Julien Fouret

For this first issue of 2020 of the Bulletin, we are delighted to feature six different sections, offering a wealth of diverse and insightful content to the readers.

As a foreword to this edition, we include In Memoriam notes by the President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Alexis Mourre, remembering a giant of international arbitration who left us too soon and whose void will be felt for years to come, Johnny Veeder, QC. We also remember Narciso Cobo Roura, one of the early pioneers of international arbitration in Cuba, and a former ICC Court Member.

The edition then features five contributions to the Global Developments Section, including (i) a timely update on the Egyptian Cour de Cassation’s most recent reaffirmations of its support of international arbitration and reference to ICC as the global benchmark for credible and legitimate arbitration; (ii) a report on a Chinese decision that raises some concern about the arbitrability of antitrust disputes in China; (iii) an overview of key amendments to the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, enacted in August 2019; (iv) two recent decisions emanating from the Bucharest Court of Appeals, questioning the emergency arbitrators’ authority to grant provisional relief, and the validity of their appointment; and (v) a report from the United Arab Emirates shedding more light of the enforcement regime for domestic and foreign arbitral awards under the country’s new arbitration law.

The ICC Institute Section offers two comprehensive articles on the importance of amicable settlement in the context of construction disputes and the related need to provide for it in dispute resolution clauses; and on the interplay between conflict of law rules and the review and enforcement of agreements to mediate.

The ICC Commission Section features a seminal report regarding the Accuracy of Fact Witness Memory in International Arbitration. This thought provoking report, which has its genesis in a speech delivered by Toby Landau, QC titled ‘Unreliable Recollections, False Memories, and Witness Testimony,’ looks at the science of human memory and examines ways in which the probative value of fact witness testimony in international arbitration can be enhanced.

The ICC Practice and Procedure Section highlights the role of the ICC Court acting as Amicus Curiae in three significant national court proceedings involving efforts to enforce an award rendered by a sham arbitral institution in Egypt (Al Qarqani v. Chevron); the importance of maintaining an ‘international pro-disclosure consensus’ (Halliburton v. Chubb); and the applicability of the competence-competence principle in evaluating the validity of arbitration clauses in agreements between independent contractors and the famous ridesharing app (Uber v. Heller). The same Section also includes the ICC practice note, and a commentary, providing guidance on making an application for interim relief to Chinese courts in support of arbitral proceedings seated in Hong Kong and administered under the ICC Rules of Arbitration.

The ICC Activities’ Section includes four reports of the latest edition of ICC developments and annual events, namely, the ICC Indian Arbitration Day; the ICC Institute Training on Production of Documents; the ICC New York Conference; and the ICC Institute Training on Drafting Enforceable Awards.

Finally, the Book Review Section presents four thoughtful summaries of the following excellent recent publications: (i) 60 Years of the New York Convention: Key Issues and Future Challenges; (ii) The Costs of Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Age of Social Media, Fake News, and the Emergence of a New Nationalism; (iii) The Interesting, Albeit Overlooked, Issue of Interest in International Arbitration; and (iv) UNIDROIT Principles 2016: An Article-by-Article Commentary.

We hope that you will find this issue interesting, and as always, we thank our contributors, our Editorial Board members, Stephanie Torkomyan, the ICC Dispute Resolution Publications’ Manager and Claire Héraud, Senior Publications Assistant (DRS_Publications@iccwbo.org).