In a decision dated September 7, 2018 (case no. 5A_942/2017, selected for publication), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on the enforcement of arbitral awards against state-owned assets located in Switzerland. The case revolved around a UNCITRAL award issued by an arbitral tribunal with its seat in Paris against a central Asian state. Based on this award, enforcement proceedings were initiated against real estate owned by the central Asian state in Switzerland. The…
In its decision 4A_260/2017 rendered on 20 February 2018, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court declined to set aside…
Litigation funding, sometimes called third-party funding or litigation finance, is becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland these days. One…
With decision dated 17 October 2017 (4A_53/2017), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court considered for the first time whether Swiss arbitral awards remain subject to revision proceedings despite the parties having waived their right to bring an action for annulment. The Swiss arbitration law allows parties to waive the statutory right to challenge an award in setting-aside proceedings, if none of them has its domicile, habitual residence or place of business in Switzerland. However, such setting-aside…
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (‘CETA’) between the European Union and Canada was signed October 30, 2016.…
The court’s power to make appointments to an arbitral tribunal and the limitations it faces under the Arbitration…
In its decision dated March 22, 2016 (case no. 4A_678/2015), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court was called upon to decide whether or not to set aside a CAS arbitral award on the grounds that the tribunal had ruled infra petita and had disregarded a party’s right to be heard. The underlying dispute revolved around a claim raised by a Brazilian football player (B.) against a Portuguese football club (Club A.), the latter of which is a…
A recent decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (4A_628/2015) has addressed the jurisdictional hurdles that can result…
In its decision dated November 9, 2015, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled on whether or not to…
Since its establishment in 2004, the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution and the Arbitration Court have handled 836 arbitration cases. Under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration, a party can challenge an arbitrator if circumstances exist that give rise to justifiable doubts as to the arbitrator’s impartiality or independence. The Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution has recently published a statistics for the time period from 2004 to 2014, showing that only fourteen challenges have been filed during the first…